THEATRE PICKS OF THE FORTNIGHT

Bacon Sandwich 
Alma Tavern, Bristol (14-19 May)

As well as running South West Scriptwriters, Bristol's Tim Massey is fast becoming a playwright with a seriously impressive reputation. His short play 'Touchy Feely' - about a blind student working alongside bonkers Christians and PC zealots on a student helpline - was, according to Venue's reviewer, 'deliciously sarky', while his riotous portrayal of domestic vigilantes, 'Have-A-Go Hero', transferred to Edinburgh Fringe last summer and earned him a 'Most Promising Young Playwright' nomination from about.com. In his latest comedy, Tim tackles that age-old wedding day nightmare: following a conspicuously alcoholic hen and stag night, the bride and her bridesmaid wake up on a deserted train while the groom and his best man are in the care of the local constabulary. Nobody, it seems, is going to make it to the church at all - let alone on time.

If this situation sounds a tad predictable, you can be sure that the play itself will be anything but. Tim's sense of humour is uniquely acidic and his previous plays have all taken an apparently ordinary situation and given them an extraordinary twist. "This one's about the reality gap in relationships," he says. "Two of the characters dream of wedded bliss, while the other two are cynical singletons. But all are deluded in their own way." The play's directed by UWE drama tutor Ned Milne and is presented by cpa@uwe, the company who also premiered 'Have-A-Go Hero'.