And what we call empathy is in reality no instinct but a skill the sort that is learned by attending to things as

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And what we call empathy is, in reality, no instinct but a skill, the sort that is learned by attending to things as a good audience-member or actor would. It's no accident that drama-therapy is now a useful tool in rehabilitating young offenders like Thompson and Venables.What made the Puritans an enemy to drama was also what drew them to capitalism (and, ultimately, to found the great Puritan empire of America) – a horrible emphasis on the individual, the notion of the soul as a thing to be hoarded, redeemed, made into a brand-name by selfish solitary effort But there are no individuals in a theatre. We go, as an audience, as writers or players, to take part in a collaborative experience, and that includes moral judgment as part of it. There is such a thing as society, after all, and working in the theatre is always my happiest reminder of it.So when my mother flies over from New Jersey to see The Age of Consent in the company of an interested and critical London audience, I'm hoping she'll be a little less vague about what I do for a living. And I'm also hoping she doesn't suggest that we go see The Phantom of the Opera on the following evening If she does, I'll take her to Butlins instead. There are some kinds of escapism that I enjoy too.'The Age of Consent': The Bush, London W12 (020 7610 4224), opens Wednesday to 9 February. Alone It Stands A Labrador puppy with a rugby ball in his furry little mouth gazes beseechingly from hoardings outside the Duchess.

This is to promote, no, not toilet paper, but the first West End show to open in 2002. I regard this as an inauspicious start since I'm neither a pooch-fancier nor a rugger-lover. To be fair, the tag line holds some appeal: "The day the underdog bit back". And for sure, Alone It Stands is an accessible and affable comedy from Ireland which re-enacts a miraculous victory of the David vs Goliath variety. In 1978, the world's burliest, scariest rugby team – the New Zealand All Blacks – were pounding their way across the British Isles, beating everyone. Only in backwater Limerick, the unfancied lads of Munster jogged on to the pitch and defeated the Kiwi giants. With a final score of 12-0, the smalltimers became living legends.This show, in itself, is a little guys' success story.

Written and directed by John Breen for a Co Mayo troupe called Yew Tree, Alone It Stands was initially performed in a handful of rugby clubs. Then it landed warm reviews on the Edinburgh Fringe and now it's scored big time – picked up by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful theatres group which was, of course, behind the maestro's Ulster soccer musical, The Beautiful Game.Breen's staging is simple, with a gym mat representing the field and Munster's modest skyline for a backdrop. His cast of six – including one sturdy actress, Niamh McGrath – are game for a laugh, juggling half-a-dozen roles each. Neat choreography means the All Blacks' preliminary Maori stomp melds into a scrum, and awesome sprints are mimicked in slow motion with amusingly strained faces.The actors supply the commentary as they pass the imaginary ball, and glimpses of the wider communal picture are interwoven. Our sporting heroes morph into jostling fans – with one pessimist harping on Ireland's history of losing military battles. McGrath is also lifted above the men to portray one of the player's wives, struggling through childbirth without her man by her side.Really though, Breen only superficially grapples with Irish socio-political worries Mild laughs rule the day. This is hardly breathtakingly original physical theatre either.