An inescapable whiff of Essence of Generic Irish Drama initially hangs over this Marina Carr revival.
Out here in the rural heartland there is, we sense, something nasty in the peat bog, which is making everyone, including the obligatory neighbour, a little jittery around the family whiskey bottle.
After all, brother Ded has moved in with the cows and grandma Shalome, largely characterised by her whimsical hat, keeps trying to run away.
Yet Carr surprises us, guiding three generations of Rafterys away from stock situations and, thankfully, village dances, and into the darkest of pitch-black places.
With such a tangle of interlinked, inter-generational secrets, the wedding of bright-eyed Sorrel to a decent young farmer is unlikely to go ahead undisturbed.
Liisa Smith's production boasts sharp turns from Aileen Donohoe as Sorrel and Margaret Moore as granite-faced elder sister Dinah.
However, Ray Callaghan, in the pivotal role of paterfamilias Red, comes across as too much of an amiable, inebriated old codger, when he should be hinting at a glistening edge of malevolence.
Ded remains frustratingly unknowable; Shalome's hat wins Best Supporting Headgear. The neighbour has his drink and goes home. Twice.
Until 11 March (020 7704 6665).
On Raftery's Hill
Rosemary Branch Theatre
Shepperton Road, Islington, N1 3DT
