WOMEN on the Verge of a T-Junction was a one-woman feat of character acting involving Scottish actor, Fiona Knowles.

Ms Knowles did an excellent job in portraying four very different women, of different ages, digging right into their psyches. Just by changing hats and coats, the actor magically managed to look completely different for each role.

The first woman featured was a sympathetic 54-year-old who seems to have caused a three-car pile-up. While nervously deciding what to do, she talks to the audience about her bullish, overbearing husband, giving a real sense of her life and an explanation of why she is the way she is.

An 82-year-old, who escaped by tank from a field hospital after it became enveloped into a Second World War front-line, is the second character. To step into her shoes, Ms Knowles brilliantly captures a convincing handshake and confused appearance. Her life story is told so well through the character that the audience was fascinated and moved.

A pregnant career woman whose ambition leads her to talk ten to the dozen is the third character and the fourth is the policewoman who attends the crash scene.

Although this production is based on a very clever and perceptive script, written by Rona Munro, its production lacked sparkle.

One-person shows are very hard to pull off and with only the Market Theatre's rather drab black boarding as a back-drop and minimal props, it seemed a little lacklustre.

Ally Hardy