One for the Road

Liverpudlian Willy Russell's comedies of working-class suburbia, models which transfer easily to big cities anywhere, have won him the traditional rewards of fame and fortune. In One for the Road, first seen in 1987 and set in the same milieu, he moved from realistic characters and situations to broad farce; the result was lots of laughs but much less depth.

Dennis is married with one child and now, at 40, feels the walls closing in. Wife Pauline doesn't understand his angst, and is perfectly happy climbing the social ladder a rung or two. They have invited a neighbouring couple round for his birthday party: Roger, something of a local Casanova, and Jane, his pseudo-emancipated wife. The stage is rather obviously set for a scenario in which Dennis punctures the others' many pretensions and provokes various reactions from them.

There is a good deal of fun to be had from the plot's unwinding and the farcical touches embedded in it on the way to a cynical conclusion. But farce can be a demanding jade and, in the hunt for laughs, some longueurs are created and the play's cliches tend to show. The writing is clever rather than witty, inviting the audience to laugh at rather than with the characters.

Terry O'Dea's direction does not yet make the most of what is there to be mined, and the action, particularly in the first half, could profitably be a great deal more energetic.

Some of the acting is hesitant, particularly Frank Melia's depiction of Dennis. Joe Cassidy and Isobel Mahon are solid rather than inspired as Roger and Pauline, but Dairine Ni Dhonnchu, in a hilarious performance as Jane, shows how it can be done.

It all makes for an amusing night's entertainment which could be better.

Runs until December 16th (booking at 01-4627477).