DIRECTOR Ben Barnes steps rather too carefully through a triptych of Synge's short plays with his cast of diploma students from the TCD Theatre Studies course.

In the Shadow of the Glen and Riders to the Sea are treated reverentially. The speaking and the characterisation in the first piece are hesitant and tentative, so that the suppressed violence and the potential sensuality remain muted. The pauses are cautious rather than pregnant. The yearning and loneliness are but lightly shadowed.

With Riders, Barnes touches the dignity of stoicism, but he evades the rawness of lamentation. On the credit side is a fine performance from Tana French as Maurya.

Here, Nick McCall's lighting is warmly impressive, complementing the simplicity of Chisato Yoshimi's striking backdrops. However, the uniform youthfulness of the players militates against a full and rich rendering of the text.

In the second half, with The Tinker's Wedding, vitality - gutsy, earthy, visceral - is to the fore in Deirdre Roycroft's pulsating portrayal of Sarah Casey, the girl who'll fight with tooth and claw to get her man to the altar and with equal ferocity to shake off the shackles of convention. The company, infected by her zest, rounds the evening off with an unbridled energy that eclipses the darker side of Synge and accentuates the liveableness of life.