Jon Haynes’s and David Woods’s piece ‘Tough time, nice time’ is a tough, confronting time in the theatre.

Their play gives an unflinching portrait of the dark souls of two German tourists on a sex junket in Bangkok. This is one of those plays that make one wince!

The entire play, a short piece that runs just over an hour, is set in a bath tub, as the two men share a bath in their Jacuzzi.

Their discussion jumps between personal stories from their lives, some true, others fabricated, to their personal ‘takes’ on a whole range of subjects. Let’s just say- they do not paint a pretty picture!

The two characters are meticulously drawn. Woods plays a married man with three kids. His wife knows that he’s gay but won’t call him on it. He gets off on seeing violent movies and fantasizes about committing violent acts himself.

Haynes’s character is a very different kind of lawyer! Despite his many homosexual encounters, he declares that he isn’t gay. He is an avid user of ecstasy and during the bath, both men take a tablet. There is more than a hint that he may be a pedophile with some of the stories that he tells.

Haynes and Woods are consummate performers and deliver their rapid-fire dialogue with sting. Mischa Twitchin’s astute lighting design leant weight to the plays’ dark tones.

This piercing portrait of two ugly German tourists plays Belvoir upstairs till the 21st December, 2008.