When Irish Hearts Are Praying

Smock Alley Theatre

Pitched initially as a small-scale drama, Aoife Crehan's play is unafraid to tackle big ideas. The decline of religion and faith, the impact of economic collapse, the unforeseen consequences of personal choice: such are the themes threaded through this tale of infidelity and betrayal.

Co-directed by Crehan and Maisie Lee, the action centres on a fateful Hallowe'en evening at the home of Rob (Steve Cash) and Aisling (Sarah-Jayne Quigley), whose unhappy home life is shattered by the arrival of Mary (Hannah James), the wife of Aisling's illicit lover. The plot grabs the attention and is backed by vivid performances, but fails to gel with the conceptual core of the play, which grew from the directors' research into belief in modern Ireland. The end result is an intriguing mismatch: a grittily melodramatic story, complete with jarring dystopian coda, that sits uncomfortably with its self-conscious but ultimately inchoate ambition.

Ends Saturday

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