Heidi and the Bear

The Pearse Centre *

FROM ITS allusive title to its otherworldly setting, Heidi and the Beartakes its cue from the darker end of the fairytale tradition, but Dragonfly Theatre Collective's modern family fable lacks the resonance or substance of the form it draws on.

Created (sic) by Shona McCarthy, Julia Benedict and Kim V Porcelli, the site-specific production, which shuttles cast and audience between dimly-lit rooms in the venue, opens with parents Fergus (Phil Kelly) and Rhea (Ruth Lehane) and their son Adam (Cal Kenealy) pining for the missing Heidi.

The arrival of a distraught girl (Zara Starr) upsets their rituals and dislodges unsettling family secrets, with hints of adolescent sexuality, paternal abandonment and incest.

But portentous themes and atmospheric sets do not a drama make: no amount of ponderous movement, prolonged silence or mannered dialogue can mask the flimsiness of this slice of self-important cod-psychology.

Runs until Wednesday