★★★★★

As I have been reviewing shows for the past couple of weeks one show I was determined to see before the end of the Fringe was Thief, this play got rave reviews at the Brighton Fringe and won an award for Best Theatrical Performance and I finally got to see why this show is held in such high regard and everything I had heard and read about it was true.

The flyer says it all really "Sailor thrives in the bars, dives and flop-houses of the most squalid ports... Look, you will see him. Sailor lives for robbery, imprisonment and expulsion... Be his victim. Sailor's 'virtues' are simple: rent, theft, and betrayal... Join him."

This is a fantastic piece of theatre by Liam Rudden it tells the story of Sailor, he calls himself Sailor because he has forgotten his actual name due to many things that has happened to him in his life.

From the moment Sailor runs onto the stage to the final moment of the play you are taken on a journey through the eyes of Sailor and some journey it is from his childhood. to the dives of ports, to prison and back the story is a harrowing one full of thievery, debauchery, violence and horror Thief is one hell of a show even though there were one or two bits which would normally make me turn away you cant help but be mesmerised by the portrayal of Sailor by the brilliant Matt Robertson. Sailor aims questions at the audience throughout the play without response simply because the audience don't. The end of the play took me by total surprise and was something I never expected.

On the way home my wife turned to me and said " I really enjoyed that, its one of those drama's that I would happily watch on TV" and certainly it would be interesting to see how it would be received by a television audience.

There were one or two funny bits in what was for the most part a very dark and seedy tale Sailor could maybe be described as Schizophrenic or nowadays Bi-Polar that's what I took from the character given the calmness, rage, happy, furious changes in Sailors demeanour.

A brilliant play it certainly deserves to be seen in many theatres and hopefully it will because I would certainly go and see it again.

Thief gets a greatly deserved 5 stars from me,