Duets are difficult – and the cast-of-two script represents a real challenge to playwright, players and audience alike. Such a play is The Monkey Walk by John Murray, being revived at the Yvonne Arnaud, and to be taken overseas later. The girl is a virgin sociologist who has always been too busy for sex. Now she is allianced to a Scots archaeologist (overseas and unseen) and wants to find a male to give her a quick “dry run” to prepare for her marriage. The man she chooses is a Cockney taxi driver with aspirations to art – in fact “a psychiatrist on wheels” He has an ex-wife (also unseen) to whom he is still mentally married.

We trace the development of this unusual affair – the girl with her fear of physical inadequacy, the man at first reluctant to get involved. She learns that there is more to a relationship than mere sex, although she does progress in that sphere from “lying like a dead mackerel” to a state approaching self-realisation. Her education also extends to domesticity like cooking, sewing and ironing, before the plot leads us up to whether or not they will part after their seven week crash course. During this time he has made many drawings of her to suggest he is interested in her soul as well as her body.

Director Charles Ross* sustains the two hours, aided especially by the sheer personality and professional flexibility of Patrick Mower, ranging from instant comedy (with a nice line in Groucho Marx) to hitherto hidden sensitivity. One feels forever that while his stage character is teaching life to Suzanne Danielle, the actor will be developing her as an actress. At present she has a certain gauche appeal and attack, but her deliberate delivery and actions grate a bit and need some smoothing.

*It appears the director changed prior to arrival at Windsor