Loughlin Deegan's second play, again produced by the Red Kettle company, examines an aspect of Irish emigration other than the traditional exodus of building labourers to Kilburn. The Queen and Peacock is a seedy gay bar in Brixton frequented by Irishmen.
Bob, the cynical English pub licensee, is serving Mark, a brash transvestite prostitute, Alan, an ebullient newcomer fresh out of Dublin, and Paul, a young Donegal man in reluctant exile. Dying of AIDS in a nearby hospice is Kieran, who has been intimately involved in the tight pub circle.
The first half passes in edgy, sometimes barbed conversation that slowly strips away the veneer of normality from the quartet. Then Kieran dies, and the tempo of the drama increases. Is he to be left to the local authority to cremate; should his remote next-of-kin be told?
Under the pressure of events and fuelled by drink, nasty truths surface. Life in this Last Chance Saloon has scarred its clientele, and only Alan sees gayness as a war that has been won and can shrug off the burden of the past that oppresses the others.
The drama is sometimes forced, propelling the characters into strident revelations and confrontations which are not always convincing. But the play's centre is strong, and the acting - by John Hewitt, Tony Flynn, Alan Leech and Charlie Bonner - overrides peripheral weaknesses to punch home some essential truths. Nolan's direction holds it all in sensitive balance, and Moggie Douglas's set design provides the right atmosphere.
Runs to September 9th. Booking at 051-855038