Deathwatch, The Print Room ★★★★★

Following Jamie Lloyd's electrifying production of Jean Genet's The Maids, the French playwright is back in vogue for London theatre. This is the first major revival of Genet's Deathwatch in almost thirty years, with a new translation by David Rudkin. Directed by Geraldine Alexander, the play explores the rivalries between three convicts with occasional input from their guard.

Deathwatch presents a high degree of difficulty: it's just three characters in a small cell, on stage the entire time. That requires a tight dynamic from the cast; something that occasionally slips. But Joseph Quinn, as the impish Maurice, manages to inject a madcap exuberance to the proceedings. The set is also appealing, and the refurbished Coronet continues to prove itself as an atmospheric West London gem. With its Circus reds and plush curtains, you forget it's supposed to be a prison until the convicts jump into the ring.

This is probably one for die-hard Genet fans, if only to check out the new translation.