Letters To Morrissey - HOME Manchester

MORRISSEY is many things to many people. But I've never thought of the enigmatic front man of The Smiths as an agony aunt, someone to spill your personal problems to.

A teenager crippled by adolescent angst pours his heart out to this most unlikely pop star in this engaging and funny 60 minute one hander currently playing at HOME in Manchester.

Gary McNair certainly doesn't act his age in this well written and expertly delivered piece, supremely convincing as a 15-year-old who feels hopelessly insecure both in school and at home.

He's naive of course, believing Moz has all the answers to his problems he sets down in an endless stream of letters and oblivious to the fact that the bespectacled genius from Stretford is just a person, like him. While this play will probably mean more to followers of Morrissey and The Smiths, it will also strike a chord with anyone who remembers their growing pains thanks to a clever and evocative script and the raw energy with which McNair delivers it.

Never having seen The Smiths live - tickets were always snapped up lightning fast - I really liked the way this one hander re-creates the atmosphere of one of the band's gigs. It really felt like I was there. But does our hero finally get to meet his musical Messiah?

You'll have to go to see Letters To Morrissey to find out. But I strongly recommend you do.

*  Until September 16. The box office on 0161 200 1500. Star rating - ***