In a scintillating season at The Old Fitz this is one of my favourite plays of the year.

Conor McPherson is a well known and frequently awarded Irish playwright. His characters are often down and out, but he writes beautifully and enables his characters to be appealing. I think this is crucial because I have seen many plays where the characters were so unpleasant that it was impossible to care about them.

The acting is sublime. I had not seen Sarah Jane Kelly before and she is just exquisite as Amy, the troubled young lass brought into Tommy’s bedraggled flat. Lawrence Coy is marvelous as Tommy’s side kick Doc- a little ‘slow’  we are told, but  funny and very endearing. As Tommy, John O’ Hare is wonderful. His character is a typical loser, down on his luck and just getting by, but his portrayal is extremely charismatic and the relationship that develops with Amy is utterly convincing and poignant.

As usual the sets, costumes, music and lighting are top notch.

The Old Fitz is the only venue that I can recommend to friends even in advance of seeing the latest production. Fine plays deserve support from the Sydney community. Do not miss any of the plays performed here – but this one in particular. I bet it will scoop plenty of awards. Don’t miss it.