Characters: 4 males, 4 females
Scenery: Interior
Personal and public duplicity are juxtaposed in this foray into the shambling offices of Open, a plucky pressure group campaigning for freedom of information and dedicated to sleuthing out government malpractice. The group's driving force, Terry, is preoccupied with the case of an Asian who allegedly attacked some skinheads, beat up a police posse and put himself to death in jail. A high flier in the Home Office gives him a confidential report confirming a cover up: the man was kicked to death while in police custody. Terry is torn between exposing the truth and protecting his source. Meanwhile, there is discord in the mail room, subterfuge in the office, and a romantic cover up to plot.
"Frayn's gently ironic comedy ... picks up a cluster of ideas about secrecy, openness and the unpalatability of truth and dices them into a series of dilemmas." Time Out.
"There is some good, lively writing here... The play is funniest when it involves the human workings of Open, a crusading group where locked drawers and suppression of feeling are the norm." London Times.