I went to see Bingo by Edward Bond in the Minerva Theatre at Chichester Festival Theatre. It was a full house (no pun intended).

Patrick Stewart was brilliant in the lead role of Shakespeare in retirement. The play itself though left me cold. It was very interesting on paper- the story of a man who put himself and his security above compassion for others; of landowners who looked after number one and disingenuously claimed their wealth would 'trickle down'; of workers who were unscrupulous in their defence of their cause.

As we grow up and grow older, we nearly all become concerned about providing for our families and our old age. Inevitably in pursuing our own security, we may turn a blind eye to ills we could do something about. Shakespeare himself had shown the importance of property in King Lear when the old king suffered the consequences of giving it up. As someone who's put all his property and most of his savings into establishing a business, I have every sympathy with Shakespeare's fear of poverty!

In Bingo, we see his recognition in a Lear-like scene that a life in pursuit of money is a waste, even if the life in question has produced some of the greatest writing in the English language.

The trouble was, the play was slow moving and the characters unengaging. The lady next to me fell asleep.