A Slow Fire – Glass Mask Theatre – Review

Dates – 22 Jan 2026  until  14 Feb 2026
Venues: Bestseller Cafe, Dawson Street

Production by: Glass Mask Theatre

The play is set after an unseen apocalypse. We know nothing about what occurred, just that a small number of humans survived. We meet Ashton (Ross Gaynor) and Reese (Ian Toner) in their bunker at the start of this production. The two have been together for several years and are lost in their reverie of times past. They find it helpful to remember the world as it was before and act out scenes from their life. They find it gives them ‘hope’, although we cannot be sure what they hope for. Their lives are simple; they spend their days mapping the locality, close to the bunker and cooking simple food. All that is about to change with the arrival of a stranger into their midst.

This is a new work by playwright Simon Stephens, known for his adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2012), which premiered at the National Theatre. The play won 7 Olivier Awards, including Best New Play. He has many original works also, and is known for Heisenberg, Birdland and Sea Wall, which ran at the Project Arts Centre starring Andrew Scott, as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2015.

The play is set in a one-room ‘bunker’ with grey concrete walls and small slit windows showing the light from the outside world. A slatted roller door is central on the back wall. The room is filled with the contents of their lives, sleeping bags, chairs and tables for their simple existence.

One of the most surprising things about this work is that it lasts over two hours, including an interval. This does not feel like a play in a small cafe/ theatre space, and the Glass Mask Theatre team has created something special in this work. The piece could have done with some editing to tighten the experience, but there is much to enjoy. The premise of a post-apocalyptic world is often used in theatre and film, but this work manages to make it into something new, focusing on the relationships between the characters in this microcosm. It’s an intense glimpse into their lives, and the acting of Ross Gaynor and Ian Toner elevates it into something quite rewarding.

Cast and Crew

Cast: Ross Gaynor, Ian Toner, Fionn O’Loingsigh
Writer: Simon Stephens
Director: Rex Ryan
Stage Manager: Nicholas Sturman
Costume Designer: Migle Ryan
PR: Beth Strahan
Photo Credit: Irem Akay
Produced by Rex and Miglé Ryan, GMT Productions