This co-production between the Abbey and CoisCeim Dance Theatre is set in a small rural dancehall in the early 1960s. For the opening 15 minutes, manager Dizzy shepherds his loyal dancers through their last pre-Lenten steps. Icons such as Dickie Rock and Brendan Bowyer are evoked in the music.

Fast-forward to the resurrection: the rain is bucketing down, the lead band hasn't shown up, the few clients are fed up. Across the way, the new Lilacland can be heard pulling them in. Then the devil arrives, seduces the women and is assaulted by the men - but he is not what he seems. It all ends in literal collapse.

The trouble with Toupees and Snare Drums, a joint creation by writer Gina Moxley and choreographer David Bolger, who also directs, is that it lacks a sense of direction. It is too slight to be satire; is not funny enough to be a successful comedy; and it confuses itself with a kind of ballet in pursuance of some under-developed theme.

Sean Kearns's Dizzy is terrific, and Raymond Keane, Charlie Bonner, Anne Byrne and the others pick off nicely some archetypal characters of the time and place. That leaves the dancing, which I pass to the expert.

Carolyn Swift writes: Director and choreographer David Bolger previously created a piece set in a dancehall and performed in the old Crystal Ballroom. Now he has developed the idea, in collaboration with Gina Moxley, into a 90minute dance/drama with dialogue. But, despite many effective moments, it doesn't quite blend into a seamless whole.

The dancing falls roughly into two parts. First is the Sixties' dancehall bop and jive, in which the actors perform similarly to the dancers, though, as in any dancehall, not all equally well. In these scenes opportunities were found for Muirne Bloomer, Aideen Gohery and James Hosty to embroider with small solos and duets, using turns and lifts. Later came contemporary dance for a women's bacchanalia surrounding the devil, the dancers executing the more demanding sequences in the foreground, and for a choreo graphed fight among the men in which James Hosty led the actors in a fine display of athleticism.

Continues until October 3rd. To book, phone: 01-8787222