Spice of Life, London

‘Spice Of Life [a pub theatre at Cambridge Circus, Charing Cross Road, London]. The Inca of Perusalem is one of Shaw’s shorter and lesser plays, a European turn of the century drama that makes a frontal attack on the inadequacies of those born to rule. All the characters are either “someone” or “no- one”, and either cannot live up to responsibilities or cannot refrain from jockeying for greater status. There is a Princess who cannot say boo to a goose, an Inca who thinks that his people love him enough to live their lives out in a constant state of war, and a hoity-toity lady’s maid who craves wealth and position through marriage. The Princess neither wants nor gets the Inca, instead the maid through her sharp wit wins his hand. It’s all laughable. But laugh is perhaps too strong a word for what this rather uninspired cast produced. Though their approach was sincere and hard-worked, too many tiny details were left unattended and the results were far too casual. The leading roles were taken by Janine Pegley, Tanveer Ghani and Samantha David, but while the latter had the commanding personality she let it run away with her. In a smaller role, Guy Graham produced a credible characterisation of a down-at-heel waiter who was in reality a doctor fallen on hard times’ (The Stage, Thursday 1 April 1982).