TOTAL FOOTBALL, THE NUFFIELD THEATRE, SOUTHAMPTON

THIS bizarre comedy was rather misleadingly titled.

Not surprisingly, I expected it to be largely, if not entirely, about football.

It began with a range of analogies relating to what makes Britain British.

It was a witty production with lots of one-line jokes in a variety of sketches, touching on topical sporting issues.

Co-writers and performers David Woods and Jon Haynes, known as Ridiculusmus, performed a selection of scenes focussing on the meaning of culture in political discussions.

The actors bounced off each other well, prompting chuckles from the small audience, despite going off on a tangent in patches.

The opening scene was amusing but failed to provide an overall theme to the show as no logical sequence followed.

But strong acting and humour partly made up for the dated and muddled plot.

Joel Holt