Child's play magic

A dodgy choice or two about the material being adapted for the stage doesn't cool the glow from this sweet and clever ensemble…

A dodgy choice or two about the material being adapted for the stage doesn't cool the glow from this sweet and clever ensemble piece for eight- to 12-year-old children.

A cast of seven and an attractive set (by Katherine Sankey) are called into nonstop action for self-conscious retellings of three stories, Con Cleverboots by Eugene McCabe, The Three Boxes by Dermot Healy and The Nettle Shirts by Eilis Ni Dhuibhne.

Only the last achieves the heights of delight, a wonderful fairytale about a girl's devotion to the brothers whom their evil stepmother has turned into swans. The story, with its magical transformations, is well suited to this treatment and perfectly matched by Andrea Ainsworth's precise direction. The other two stories have their moments too, but The Three Boxes - Lewis Carroll meets Flann O'Brien meets Jung - is too dense, too allegorical, for this setting and this audience.

It's unfair to choose among seven strong performers, but Catherine Mack plays the evil stepmother with Hillary-esque ambition, and Enda Kilroy has been so perfect every time I've seen him in a children's play that he too demands a mention.