Blaggers

Ciaran Creagh's first play, Blaggers, is a comedy of errors and mutual subversion by a group of lowlife Dubliners with the notion of getting rich quick. They recognise that they lack the resources to overcome the security measures of the average bank, and come up with a feasible alternative - rob the local dole office.

Mickser polishes the idea with an inside helper, Ronan, who is embittered because he has been denied promotion. He then enlists three friends for the job; Sammy, his purported girl friend; Kylie, a kooky Cork girl with a distinct lack of scruples; and Johnny, a large man with a brain in inverse proportion to the rest of him. Together they get it on.

There follows a fast-paced scenario of robbery and aftermath, ingeniously plotted and nicely resolved. The author has a clear talent for crafting a story for the stage, and bolsters it with a quintet of comic characters, supplemented briefly by a ludicrous policeman - good for extra laughs. The entertaining whole offers some two hours of clever, good-humoured fun.

The actors are in delightful form. Fionn O'Shaughnessy (Mickser), Macdara Deery (Johnny), Tina O'Connor (Sammy), Margaret Hannon (Kylie) and Padraig Murphy (Ronan) handle their characters and the witty dialogue with confidence and flair, as indeed does Timothy Hassett in his small-but-tasty role as the Garda. Alex McLennon's controlled direction helps to make the author's debut an enjoyable and meaningful one.

Runs until tomorrow; to book phone 01-6795720