Following a tour of 20 galleries on four continents, Tim Crouch's whimsical meditation on art and hearts arrives in, yes, England trailing praise.
It's hard to see why. This portentously-named two-hander left me feeling cross that I hadn't simply been allowed to spend the hour pottering through the Whitechapel's splendidly renovated galleries.
It's infuriating that almost nothing is made of the fact that we are surrounded by artworks, in this instance by Isa Genzken.
Crouch and co-performer Hannah Ringham tell us not to touch anything and oversee our purposeless shuffling about the space but never move towards any meaningful engagement with their surroundings.
My hunch is that this thin material is hitching a ride on the current vogue for site-specific theatre.
Crouch and Ringham, pleasing performers both, take turns with the fluid narrative about "my boyfriend and I". The boyfriend is an art dealer, while "I" needs a heart transplant.
For the second act, we sit in the oddly airless Zilkha Auditorium and witness the awkward meeting of "I" and the widow of the heart donor.
There's no chance that we'll miss the overarching theme: everything has its market value in our mercenary culture, and even a heart can go to the highest bidder.
Just why we have to schlep to the Whitechapel Gallery to be told this is unclear.
Until June 16 (020 7452 3000). www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
England
Whitechapel Gallery
Whitechapel High Street, E1 7QX
