Public Enemy at the Young Vic

Set in an imagined 1970's Norwegian rural community, garishly coloured and re-worked for a 21st century audience, you'd be right not to expect a straight up and down Ibsen from the Young Vic. This is particularly true when the architect of this modernisation, David Harrower, is the same brain in the same head that brought you the Young Vic's previous little chunks of joy The Good Soul of Szechuan and The Government Inspector.

On the other hand, this is Ibsen we're talking about, so you can probably leave your incontinence knickers at home if you're worried about laughing too long or too hard.

Public Enemy was apparently written in response to some nasty types criticising his previous play Ghosts, and Ibsen is none too subtle about it. From one perspective, the early and later scenes of the play are just vehicles to give context to the scene in the hall in Horster's house, where Dr. Stockmann lets rip at petty local officialdom, the media, democracy and the ignorance of the general populace. This is the main set piece of the performance and delivered from in front of the curtain with most of the rest of the cast strategically placed within the audience. This is the scene from the play that I will remember, although I have no idea how much of it was Ibsen and how much Harrower. Either Ibsen was a visionary with a keen understanding of the balance between naivety and altruism, and a hatred of political short-termism, or Harrower is rather good at his job.

It's easy to pick out things to like about this performance. The ensemble cast are great (Niall Ashdown as Aslaksen is particularly worth a watch), the staging is quirky and fun, and more to the point the feeling in the room when you're watching it is a particular blend of amusement and edginess that makes the Young Vic a regular fixture for me. The fact that the audience seemed unsure how to react to Stockmann's diatribe was spot on.

Picking holes is a little harder perhaps, and much less fun. However, if I had to put on my grumpy face and opine I might say this: I felt like I'd seen this play before at the Young Vic - only done a little bit better. Again, the sheer joy that was The Government Inspector springs to mind, or the quirky, chaotic Three Sisters. If you're looking for politics with modern relevance, Wild Swans. But if you haven't seen those, and are a little bit less mental about going to the theatre than I am, then there is absolutely no reason why this play wouldn't be anything other than refreshing, thought-provoking and a good night out. For those of you who, like me, spend unhealthy amounts of time at the theatre, you can probably find a better show to watch for your money.

For the record, here's what a few other, better qualified, people thought:

Tim Auld at the Telegraph

Matt Trueman

Michael Billington at the Guardian