Conor McPherson's country pub is a world unto itself, and the changes wrought by the 10 years since the play's premiere don't impinge. In Garry Hynes's forensic new production our attention is directed to the inner life of the five characters, with gestures and glances carrying eloquent weight.
From the unhurried opening scene between David Ganly's easy-going barman, Brendan, and the first of his regulars, the excitable Jack (Sean McGinley), it is clear that Hynes is going to allow the dialogue's rhythms to build around an ocean of silence. By the time we have heard ghost stories from Jack, the brash Finbar (Denis Conway) and martyred Jim (Mark Lambert), the cast's command of the stage has been established through the almost ritualised pacing of their interaction.
The contrast between the men's well-worn stories and the raw grief recounted by the newcomer, Valerie, is heightened by Genevieve O'Reilly's expressiveness. She jolts the others into a mode of communication that confronts, rather than avoids, emotion. When Jack tells Valerie one last story, it's a painful confession rather than an anecdote, and even Brendan, who has been listening all night, reveals his loneliness.
This final scene, beautifully acted, confirms that this production takes the play from parody to elegy, to a place where the silence is thicker, and the sense of loss more acute.
· Until August 16. Box office: (353) 1 8744045.
