Dear Martin review – darkly comic prison pen-pal drama lacks bite

Nothing quite makes sense … Ben Simpson (Dave) and Alex Mugnaioni (Martin) in Dear Martin at the Arcola theatre, London. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian

It starts off with marital infidelity after Dave discovers his wife has been writing love letters to a prisoner in a high-security hospital facility. Outraged, he writes to Martin himself and Martin writes back.

So Dave and Martin begin as pen-pals before becoming real-life pals when Dave starts visiting – and inexplicably relying on Martin’s guidance for matters of love and romance.