A fashionable method of dramatising a novel in recent years has been to assemble as few actors as possible, preferably two, and divide all the characters of Bleak House or War and Peace between them, fire the starting pistol and see how quickly they can convey the entire story without props and without confusing the accents of their apportioned roles. The result is either an economical tour de force, the audience departing staggered by the virtuosity of the performers, or a maelstrom of voices and parts in which the novel sink s without trace.

Out of This World is a novel which spans the history of the twentieth century using a cast of two voices, speaking alternately, with a pair of taciturn extras thrown in. The strain in this production is not upon their ability to become quick-change artistes – whjch is not required