The play currently offered at the Brattle Theatre is neither the best nor the worst play Bernard Shaw has written. It is a typical potpouri of cynicism and moralizing, seasoned with a dash of melodrama and presented with wit and enthusiasm.

One must admire the Brattle group for its program of producing little known and seldom seen works. But it would seem that this course would carry with it the obligation of being careful to meet any specialized acting demands that a specific play might require--in this case, an adequate protagonist.

"Captain Brassbound's Conversion," the story of how a woman converts a purposeless brigand into a purposeful one, is supposedly dominated by the female lead, Cicely Wayneflete. As played by Ann Revere this character is weak, inconsistent, and incapable of forcing the last act climax that Shaw envisioned. According to the script she is a woman who is to have her own way, and yet the awe with which her presence is greeted at the end of the first act hardly seems merited. One indeed wonders why her every word is met with instantaneous servility.

Paul Sparer, the object of her attention also has several bad moments. At times in the second act he appeared as a burlesque of himself, but his recovery in the final scene was fine, neatly spoken and thoroughly understandable.

The character parts, and there are many of them, are well handled. I found Neil Powell, the American naval officer highly amusing and, although Jerry Kilty's accent made his Drinkwater hard to follow at times, it seemed to me a full and clever characterization. Edward Finnegan also added greatly to the supporting cast.

Peter Temple's direction maintained a suitably brisk pace, but a brief interplay of mugging between Miss Revere and Finnegan in the first act served only to distract the audience from a crucial piece of early exposition.