Foam
Finborough Theatre, London

THIS is a flawed piece of theatre, but there is something vitally important at its heart.

The cast can’t be faulted; all four bring immense energy, skill and wit to their characters. The script simply doesn’t serve them well enough.

Nicky (Jake Richards) is full of pent-up aggression, which often finds its pitiful target. At one moment, his neglected teenager falls prey to the charisma of a faux leader, in the next, his strutting, stomping bovver boy, is stormtrooper for any neonazi cause. And he is gay, full of conflict, caught in the conniption of the macho thug versus the simple yearnings of a young man desperate to find his community. We see far too little of the latter, so it’s hard to empathise with the softer soul under the carapace.