Theatre review: The Intervention, Assembly Rooms, George Street

A FAMILY wait for their middle-aged, alcoholic son to emerge from the basement. They are going to stage an intervention.

The Intervention targets the world of one-size-fits-all rehab and cod-psychology, highlighting the tension between who we are and what other people want us to be.

The problem with showing how real life refuses to follow a 12-step programme is that the play’s own structure breaks down. The unlikeable characters struggle to get across emotion, which may be the point but hinders this as a drama. Worse, by the end, things become histrionic, undermining what has gone before.

Rating: * *

• Ends tomorrow

JONATHAN HOLMES