Kelly lives across the hall from Martin in a bedsit in a Victorian house in Fairview. One night she sees him in hall, to drunk to open his front door. She helps him in, and so begins an unlikely friendship between the two. Kelly already has a boyfriend in the shape of Deano, a young man she refers to as ‘shite bag’ more often than not. Deano is obsessed with motorbikes and dabbles with drugs, and the relationship between Kelly and Deano is not the most stable. Martin is a complex man, who has his own demons. An incident in his past still haunts him, and causes his drinking. An industrial accident has caused Martin to need a cane to walk, and he sees himself as a cripple. What could a girl like Kelly see in a man like Martin?

This is the story of a unlikely relationship between Martin and Kelly. Kelly is 20 and works at the local hair dresser part time. She seems a happy go lucky type, who nearly always has a smile on her face, and makes the best of things. Martin is older, at 29 and is an introverted character who writes poetry in his spare time and is struggling to control his drinking. They seem an unlikely couple, but they are drawn together and try to make something that works for both of them.

The set by Sinead O’Hanlon is impressive and creates the front room of the bedsit where Martin lives. The variety of doors and windows that are positioned around the set create the feeling that this is just another house in the suburban landscape in which they dwell. The variety of music posters around the space set the tone well for Martin’s character and the music of Ian Brown features heavily between scenes.

This is a three hander, and all three performed well, although at times their natural style of acting made it hard to hear them at the back of the auditorium. The script by Sean McLoughlin focuses on the two main characters, and delves into what holds them together, and what could pull them apart. It’s an interesting insight into life in Dublin in our times, and these two complex characters are well drawn out. This is another impressive new show by Fishamble who continue to make interesting new theatre, and are well worthy of support.

Written by Sean McLoughlin

Directed by Jim Culleton

Cast Ian Lloyd Anderson, Seána Kerslake, Ryan Andrews

Set Designer Sinead O’Hanlon

Lighting Designer Mark Galione

Costume Designer Donna Geraghty

Sound Designers Ivan Birthistle and Vincent Doherty

Dramaturg Gavin Kostick

Producer Marketa Dowling

Fishamble’s production of The Bruising of Clouds runs at the Civic Theatre until Saturday the 12th of Oct.