LINDA Marlowe has been, at various points in her life, a lesbian, drug smuggler, wife to four husbands, mother of four, circus performer, burnt-out rock star, sexploitation movie "actress" and jungle adventurer.

This, according to the blurb for her one "man" show, makes her a "professional free spirit". Oh, add two abortions to that list.

Certainly Marlowe's energetic performance - incorporating every known expletive - makes for exhilarating theatre, bringing chuckles both of the nervous and belly laugh variety.

The drama is a series of anecdotes from her colourful past, all of which basically boil down to telling the audience that men are vermin and sisters should strike out to live their lives as they please.

Stirring stuff, of course, especially with an ending which sees Linda suspended on a trapeze and a roster of jokes which gives the often chilling - and apparently true - material a darkly comic twist.

But is this over-the-top performance really just a cruel trick to mock women like Linda? Is she just someone who has refused to take on real responsibility and direction in her life, leaving a wake of emotional mayhem for herself and others? And is the show merely a way of justifying, through applause, her actions?

A show with two very different meanings for the audience then - a rare treat for the thinking theatre goer. OE