THERE'S three hostages in a cell. An Englishman, Irishman and an American. One is killed, one gets released and the last one is left. The American sings Amazing Grace. The Irishman hands out imaginary glasses of Guinness, sherry and vodka Martini and the Englishman, who by the way comes from Peterborough, does a pretty good impression of Virginia Wade winning the 1977 Wimbledon final. Sounds like the start of a great joke? Well maybe not. But it is one way of dealing with a life-threatening hostage situation in Lebanon.

Irish playwright Frank McGuinness' play Someone Who'll Watch Over Me opened at the Dukes last Friday.

His work is a clear case of when the going gets tough, what is it that really matters to each and everyone of us? Actors Kieran Cunningham, Edward Halstead and Ray Harrison-Graham encapsulate the feelings of three men, a long way from home, fearing for their lives with only their lively minds to keep them from calling it a day or sending them mad.

These guys sure know how to entertain. They were both funny, sad, and scared. The nervous Englishman, played by Halstead, is at the mercy of the cynical and scathing Irish journalist played by Cunningham. The young American exercises to keep his mind alert, sings to stop himself crying but suffers cruelly at the hands of the captors.

Bound in chains the men barely touch each other until two of them embrace in the final parting scene. The look of genuine fear on the Englishman's face when he realises he's going to be left in the cell, alone, is frightening and it is at this point that you question your own grit.

I think the audience were stunned by the emotional power of this play. Former Beirut hostage Brian Keenan, who will be at the October 26 performance, perfectly sums it up. "With uncanny intuitive force Someone Who'll Watch Over me touched wellsprings that moved the drama out from its vague topicality and sang to everyone."

Someone Who'll Watch Over Me runs until November 1. Ring 66645 for tickets

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