I'd Rather Goya Robbed Me Of My Sleep Than Some Other Arsehole

Gate Theatre, London W11

3 Stars

In Madrid a nameless divorced father of two, exasperated by the economic crisis and the incomprehensible docility of the response to it of all around him, engages in an act of pure nihilism to restore meaning to his fractured life.

Existence is made extra miserable by supporting the luckless Atletico Madrid.

Torn between blowing his life's savings on a wild night out in the city's brothels and his kids' preference for a trip to Disneyland, in an act of cultural self-flagellation he insists on breaking into the Prado museum to spend a night in the company of Goya's "dark" paintings.

His young kids - played by a couple of Gloucestershire Old Spot piglets - soon get the message when dad poignantly prepares then eats a bacon sandwich in front of them, a threatening allusion to Goya's Saturn Devouring His Son.

A home library of books "liberated" from friends, libraries and bookshops embodies the father's spiritual aspirations and they are juxtaposed, disdainfully, with soulless domestic electrical appliances.

In this spirit he engages for the evening the company of celebrity "posthumanist" philosopher Peter Sloterdijik to provide intellectual sustenance throughout the evening.

In its short running time - less than an hour - I'd Rather... zeros in on consumerism-induced alienation with verve, though it's a necessarily fragmented experience.

Steffan Rhodri (pictured) as the father is terrific as he delivers the quasi-absurdist lines of confusion, dilemma and ultimately sheer exasperation in this one-man show, two-pig show.

The set design by Fly Davis - eerily reminiscent of an isolation cell of a mental hospital - and a musical score by Adrienne Quartly provide impeccable symbiotic support while Jude Christian's imaginative direction impressively completes a women-led artistic team.

Runs until March 29. Box office: (020) 7229-0706.

Michal Boncza