AS THE second part of a double bill, the Maskers brought us their interpretation of Joe Orton's poignant comedy.

The story follows George Buchanan, played with sensitivity by Harry Tuffill, as he reaches retirement from "the firm" after 50 years of dedicated service.

An unexpected meeting with a past love leads to a series of surprise revelations.

Andrew Smith, making his debut as director, used some clever symbolism well interpreted by Carla Evans with simple grey boxes for set and primarily grey costumes. These helped to enhance the concept of the anonymous employee within "the firm".

Despite the strength of the script, at times the cast had difficulty in portraying both the comedy and poignancy of this beautifully written play.

The simple set presented some management problems. On occasion the cast struggled to reorganise the boxes and sheets, distracting the audience from the performance and slowing the pace.