"MEN" Performed by Duncan Hamilton

MEN is a critically acclaimed one man show, which has been performed at the Dublin Theatre Festival, The Melbourne Comedy Festival and elsewhere. It is adapted from the original work of Japanese actor Isse Ogata, whose influences include James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter. His original Japanese characters and settings are replaced here with English ones, and all concentrate on the universal theme of the foibles and frustrations of modern man.

The pieces focus on men in isolated situations, and essentially they are depictions of everyday characters for whom 'reality' is disintegrating. These men are not heroic types -- unless of course we consider man's recurring struggle through life to be heroic in itself. These men may be 'failures', but they are optimistic failures, and their stories are those of people whose stories would not otherwise be told.

	*The Marriage Introduction Service* Ambrose, a 42 year old classical musician, has recently lost his mother. We meet him now, at his first meeting with a female consultant at a marriage introduction bureau, in search of a wife. As the consultant puts him under more and more pressure concerning his reasons for wanting to get married, his 'adult' face begins to slip, revealing a lonely, pompous and aged child.
	The Car Park A frazzled salesman is waiting for a client in a multistory car park, when amnesia strikes. First the peripheral and then the most intimate details of his life begin to elude him, leaving him to dredge through his memory (and his pockets) in a desperate attempt to find clues to his identity.
	The Politician's Speech A right wing politician at a rally. This is an in-depth analysis (in gibberish) about the content of political oration.
	The Comeback Johnny Jupiter is a one time pop singer who had a single hit over a quarter of a century ago, but (luckily for us) is making his comeback tonight. After a series of the most menial jobs Johnny makes his return to the small time, recounting his past glories and miseries, while struggling to maintain his dignity in a dead-end cabaret.