Harold and Maude (2)

Harold and Maude ought to be right up my alley. It's got a death fixated teenager, a spot of intergenerational sex, shows the world through a variety of different perspectives. There's even a rather charming film from the early 1970s which, as Neil Cooper mentions in his review, was made in the face of social chaos in America, as the hippy dream receded into a more cynical reality.

Colin Higgins' version of his screenplay does struggle to replicate the detail of the film - it is far easier to believe in Harold's alienation when he is wandering around a huge house - and his relationship with Maude is surprisingly gentle, given the grand themes of social disapproval, the twentieth century's violent history and the meaning of life in the face of death that bubble beneath the surface. And despite the breezy humour, it is the substance of the script, which begs deeper analysis, that gives the play its fascination.

Kenny Miller's production, which divides the action into two grand spaces, struggles to catch the nuance of the film version: a solid cast gets the laughs, but  the chemistry between Tommy Barstow's Harold and Vari Sylvester's Maud is only occasionally powerful.

The problem might be in the characterisation: Harold comes across as a sulky teenager, never the most intriguing personality,and the supporting characters - Harold's mother, a sleazy psychiatrist, are caricatures. It makes for a lightweight entertainment, a perky version of social satire but lacking the bite to be directly relevant