THEATRE / Hub-Cap Cowboy - La Bonne Crepe, London SW11

Paul Prescott and Chris Pearson's new musical comedy is about a group of long-distance lorry drivers who congregate in a caff on the A1. Into this world of men who would be tough, comes Patrick (Nicholas Warnford), a sometime vegetarian chef with a liking for skimmed milk. Soon he, too, is asking for steak and chips, much to the disappointment of his girlfriend (Valerie Weyland).

The drivers consider themselves cowboys of the road, and to enforce this image, the catchy musical numbers are pastiches of Country and Western melodies - rather confusingly at first until the song 'I'm a hub-cap cowboy' clears things up. All the characters have their dreams of a better life and C&W is an outlet for those dreams - the waitress (a bubbly Paddy Navin) has renamed herself Honey, and Tony, the truck driver (Paul Prescott), fantasises about being John Wayne.

As is appropriate for a play set in a 'Ranch in the Meadow' cafe, there are some deliciously corny lyrics but, despite a spirited cast, by the end of nearly two hours the cowboy jokes have been whipped to the bone.

To 19 Sept (071-228 5070)