A Number

A Number is a clever play, so you can see why someone would think it was a good idea to transfer it into a TV piece.

The experiment works in some respect. Tom Willkinson is good in his role, giving Salter all the qualities that make us want to like him and loath him all at the same time.

Rhys Ifan's is the real revelation though, playing his multiple roles with skill and ease.

The real thing that this piece comes down to though is whether you can put up with the slow pace of the whole thing or whether Carol Churchill's decision to leave so many sentences unanswered or spoken over. It's a good technique but one that grates after a while.

I didn't hate 'A Number' but it certainly didn't make me want to watch it again.

I must say I really only watched this programme for Tom Wilkinson, although the premise was intriguing, with the idea that a man finds out he is a clone & that there are other copies of him walking around, & the confrontation with his father about what happened. And despite a decent storyline, right from the start it was clear it was originally for the stage, with the dialogue very much in the style of a David Mamet play (Oleanna springs to mind), with the progression & dialogue unclear in many places.

The performances however can't be faulted, with excellent performances from Rhys Ifans & Tom Wilkinson, however perhaps the script would've been better adapted for television than taken directly from the play.