One Million Tiny Plays About Britain

What does it mean to be British? This collection of beautifully observed snapshots by Craig Taylor transports the audience all over the country, from Glasgow and Belfast to Rotherham and London, offering glimpses of everyday life. Ultimately, though, it is less about place, and more about what it means to be human.

This isn't the strongest of linking threads, but the quality of Taylor's mini scripts is such that the audience is too busy nodding and laughing to be bothered about piecing together any kind of profound message.

Director Ros Philips has taken on quite a challenge in selecting and piecing together the plays – some poignant, some comic, a few dramatic and others mundane – into a piece of theatre. Some decisions are more successful than others. The use of vox pop audio from people interviewed during travels across the country is an unnecessary complication, and while the programme notes explain that the action covers a period of roughly 24 hours, there a few clues to this passage of time in the work itself.

However, these are relatively minor quibbles. Pauline Turner puts in a terrific performance in countless roles ranging from a lonely pensioner to a compliant daughter and hopelessly drunk party girl. Mark McDonnell and Sushil Chudasama are a little less consistent, with a few questionable accents and some less inspiring characters, but the overall result is an entertaining piece with a handful of dynamite moments.

Most of the scenes are satisfying snapshots: a brief dispute over a restaurant bill is perfectly ridiculous, while a confrontation between a mother and a Nabokov-reading man near a children's play park reveals just enough. The audience is trusted to fill in the blanks.

One of the longest and most entertaining scenes stands out, and feels ripe for expansion and development. A wholly unappealing man, superbly played by McDonnell, approaches a table covered in shocking images of abused animals. He lingers. What unfolds is at once hilarious and horrifying, absurd and yet logical. He may not be a great Briton, but it takes all sorts.