have i outgrown walker's drama? i usually love reading plays - few things please me more than machine-gun rattle dialogue that is sharp and witty - but for once i felt let down.

suburban motel is a collection of six plays, all taking place in one motel room. a few of the pieces are alright, but the ones featuring max, the cop gone bad, were pretty cliched and boring.

overall, the plays try to be hardcore but come across as exactly that: trying.

the characters are troubled, but i didn't sympathise with any of them. walker was trying to do too much with this group of characters and interlocking plays.

i recall enjoying his earlier work, and will have to pick up his more recent stuff.