The Man (a play)

Finborough Theatre West Brompton London until 19 June

While it is reasonable to believe that there could be a play about anything under the sun it still came as a surprise to learn that James Graham has written one about filling in tax returns.

The Man starts with London-based Ben played on this occasion by former History Boy Samuel Barnett in a quandary as he tries to sift his way through shoeboxes of receipts.

The self-employed internet educator is struggling with the underlying concepts and constantly requires assistance from Lizzy Watts’s Lisa the unexpectedly helpful lady on the 0845 helpline at HMRC in Wrexham.

Soon enough he gets a grasp of the basics dividing receipts between legitimate business expenses and amounts frittered away on leisure pursuits.

From a tax perspective the only thing that...