Our Island

Project Cube

***

The sanctuary that London affords tormented Irish souls has an on-the-nose familiarity in Our Island, where Irish-English differences form an obsessive fascination. A young gay couple prepare for a difficult first-time encounter with Irish parents on Christmas Eve. While the wait for the parents lengthens, we get a deeper understanding of Jack and Bradley through memories of when they were young. Peter Corboy and Rob Malone give excellent performances as the couple, with real on-stage chemistry. The reminiscing is cut short by the arrival of Charlie (a refreshing Siobhán Cullen) and her boyfriend Dean, played to comic effect by Jamie O'Neill as an all-business geezer. The pivotal moment comes, Jack's parents arrive, and immediately it all falls apart with a spill of wine and a roar of "Fuck off mum", with Bairbre Ní Chaoimh giving a superb performance as the tight-lipped mother who can take no more. At times it relies heavily on its skilled cast to carry it through its problematic and saccharine moments. And it's hard to suspend disbelief as the 22-year-olds speak of mortgages and marriage in their two-storey London home. For 85 minutes, though, they create a space that is convincing.

Until September 13th