Gerry is a fifty-something year old handyman busying himself with odd jobs in the school where he works. Enter Susan, a young woman who, after some initial confusion and a nice dig at stereotyping, we learn is an exchange student from Malawi. As the drama is played out their mutual differences become far less important than the common ground they find they share, and by the end the relationship is one of mutual respect and friendship.
Susan has come to the room to set up a project display for a class, on the instructions of her supervisor, but would clearly prefer to be elsewhere. Gerry is intrigued by the objects being placed before him and asks about the purpose of the project. It is about the charity Mary's meals and the excellent work it does feeding deprived children across the world so that they are not too hungry to learn at school, Susan being one of the first beneficiaries. Gerry's enquiring mind leads Susan to tell the story of the charity and its achievements, illustrated with the objects she is setting up for her talk. But along the way they discover a shared passion for, and encyclopedic knowledge of, music, and the reason/opportunity for Susan wishing to get away quickly.
As so often with fiction which aims to be 'worthy', the didactic aspects of the script can be a bit too heavy handed at times and leave the audience feeling more lectured at than entertained. It is saved by some very funny lines and an interesting array of props. Above all it is made entertaining by two excellent performances. Teri Ann Bob-Baxter's Susan is feisty, sharp and fun. Overshadowed by a beautiful portrayal of a seen-it-all working class autodidact from Alan McHugh who is funny, touching, irritable and always very human.
Not the best play I've seen in the P, P and P series, but still a worthy entry into the list of successes.
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