IT'S a normal Friday afternoon on the Churchill ward - schizo Pete is planning his daily trip to Hawaii, while the distinctly un-pregnant Marie is convinced

she's having a baby.

So Alan Bleasdale - perhaps best known for the 1990s TV series GBH - begins his 1976 drama telling the story of a day on a hospital psychiatry wing.

As if the Liverpool writer's reputation for bleak comedy were not enough of a clue, from the opening song - Crazy - the mood is set for a play that will

pull no punches in sparing the mentally ill from being laughed at.

Eddie and Christine are psychiatry nurses on the ward, looking after Marie, Pete and Ben.

They are joined by another patient, Vera, who really is expecting a baby.

Eddie suspects Vera to be just another benefits sponger taking advantage of the system for a spell of easy time in a mental asylum, but it becomes increasingly apparent that her problems are deeper than he suspects.

Gradually, more and more strands of the intricate plot begin to emerge as we discover the sad pasts of each character - carers and patients alike.

This is a witty, if slightly dated, piece - which needs superb ensemble acting, clever direction and fast pace to work.

Unfortunately, last night's opening performance failed to deliver on any of them.

By the end of the first act, the pace had dropped to such a slow speed it was in danger of going backwards.

Martyn Hunter, playing Ben, provided most of the rare comic moments - gleefully crashing on to the stage riding a stolen bicycle, and forever punctuating his speech with a sudden, wicked laugh.

Things did pick up in the second half, with the best scenes between Marie, Ben and Pete as they are left to their own devices on the ward.

But all in all, the dragging pace and dull staging did not do justice to a play, which in other hands might have been a poignant triumph.

Updated: 10:50 Friday, March 04, 2005