Men of the World

Preparing for a mystery trip to Scarborough ("she wouldn't book till Dennis told her where we were going") three Northern coach drivers pass the time remembering more exciting trips from the past, such as the last one, down the Rhine Valley to Heidelberg. Stick hates his passengers and wishes he was doing the Spanish run instead of Johnny Mac. Larry is a Mario Lanza fan who's been making trips for as long as anyone can remember and Frank ("don't ask...it'll only shock you!") is their female counterpart. These three actors take turns playing an assortment of passengers, from the dotty old complainers to the retired miners seeking excitement too late and on too little money. Escape is on everyone's mind but no one knows quite what they're escaping from and how to go about it. As Sissy says, it is "better going somewhere when you're seventy-nine than going nowhere". A touching, often hilarious, bitter-sweet play, full of John Godber's usual clever, perceptive view of "men of the world".