Healing the Dead

The Focus Theatre's annual season of new one-act Irish plays, presented at lunchtime, is off to an interesting start with Johnny Hanrahan's Healing the Dead. It is not without its flaws, notably a certain exaggeration in the dialogue that sits uneasily with the play's naturalism, but it does have a heart and a point.

An old lady lies dead in her coffin while the three children she reared, now adults in their thirties or so, stand or sit around. She was their aunt, who took them in when their parents effectively abandoned them. They remember her differently. Pearl, who lived with her, is bitter and almost vengeful about her. Sadie, now a promiscuous worker in a city, is sentimental. Micheal, a priest, tries to be rational. Three letters from the dead woman stir beyond-the-grave revelations into the mix and add credibility to the conclusion.

Stephanie Dunne, Michelle Costello and Robert McDowell play their roles convincingly, and Ena May's direction, with Robert Lane's simple design, tunes things nicely.

Continues until August 1st. To book, phone: 01-6763071.