Kate, the central character in Deirdre Kinahan's new play Passage, was born 30years-plus ago in London, shortly after her father was killed in an accident. Now her mother, with whom she had a serious rift, has died alone, and Kate is racked with a mixture of resentment and guilt.
There are complications. She shares a flat with her lesbian partner, Sara, and has never visited Ireland or her parents' relatives there, rejecting the very notion of Irishness. She is without family, nationality or other foundation.
But one day Brian, a first cousin from Dublin, over for a football match, comes calling out of curiosity. They like each other and, one wine-soaked evening, fall into sex. Now even that orientation is in doubt.
The second act sees Kate visit Dublin and Brian's mother on a belated quest for her roots. What she finds is a tangle of lies and repression but at last she learns the truth. It does not make her whole immediately but she is on the path to a more stable life.
There is a convincing ring about the author's characters and their social backgrounds, certainly enough to hold the interest throughout. The play lacks a resonant climax and includes flashback monologue scenes with Kate's mother which are of dubious value.
However, its still, sad music of undramatic lives fills the small theatre and inspires director Maureen Collender and her excellent cast - Phoebe Flint, Victoria Monkhouse, Robert Shaw, Billie Traynor and Julianne Mullen - to achieve something worthwhile.
Runs to May 5th; to book phone 01-4627477)