THE MAN WHO PAYS THE PIPER Orange Tree, Richmond

G B Stern’s play was last seen in the West End in 1931. On the death of her father and elder brother in World War 1, a 20-year-old girl (delightful performance by Deidre Mullins) becomes the breadwinner of the family. Twelve years on, when the family no longer need her support, she decides to get married, only to find that she is no longer fit for marriage and bored stiff. She blames the war for having turned women into “freaks.” Her husband comes up with a solution. Helen Leblique’s production would benefit from for some ruthless cutting of Stern’s text.