Look Back in Anger at Silo Theatre

John Osborne's landmark play belongs in a lineage of English working-class rage that has surfaced periodically in movements like the Levellers, Ranters, Luddites and anarchists. Its more recent eruptions might include the original Mods and the punk rebellion of 1976.

Like these short-lived howls of protest, Look Back in Anger is both invigorating and frustrating. The rage is visceral and heartfelt but its targets are ill-defined and little is offered in the way of solutions.

The play no longer possesses the shocking newness that made it such a huge influence on British theatre, but it remains a notoriously difficult work to stage.

Audiences must be prepared to face nearly two hours in the company of Jimmy Porter, a relentlessly sarcastic, self-righteous and self-pitying bully. He is driven by the unshakeable conviction that anger is the only acceptable response to an intolerable situation, but he strikes out at whatever is close at hand and most of his vitriolic scorn is heaped on the people he loves.

The role is an enormous challenge and Aaron Alexander makes a good fist of it, portraying Jimmy as a borderline psychotic as he swings between moments of startling intensity and callous insouciance.

At times his performance recalls the anarchic energy of Ric Mayall in The Young Ones, though the production underplays the comic potential of Osborne's wildly inventive epithets.

Attention is focused on the devastating impact that Jimmy's anger has on his long-suffering wife, played with great delicacy by Mia Blake. Her unspeaking presence behind the emblematic ironing board is a poignant reminder that verbal abuse can be just as destructive as physical violence.

When she responds, it is with such feeling that a few well-chosen words can completely dismantle her husband's interminable tirades.

Louis Sutherland, as Jimmy's workmate, Cliff, gives a wonderful performance that provides a nice contrast to the intensity of the feuding couple. His speech is infused with easy laughter and a down-to-earth quality that is instantly appealing.

The decision to do without English accents succeeds. It lends authenticity to the emotions and generates a contemporary feel, well-supported by an edgy soundtrack.

Director Miranda Harcourt relies heavily on physical theatre devices to highlight the psychological undercurrents of the work. And while these elements are sometimes revealing they lend an artificial tone that seems at odds with the spirit of the play.

Look Back in Anger is not an easy play but it is deeply rewarding. The blazing vitality of the work remains undimmed, and unlike many of the works it has influenced, the play ends with a gesture that is full of hope.