The Woolgatherer Cork Arts Theatre

This two-hander, from Orion Productions in association with Blue Moon Theatre Company, is a must-see for its excellent performances and thoroughly absorbing story-line.

Although not much happens in this quest for love by two lonely people, a world is conjured-up, private hurts surface, and the dynamic between the two characters makes for compelling viewing.

Rose (Sinéad O’Riordan) is delicate, neurotic, slow to trust, but naive enough to ask Cliff (Michael Hough), a trucker she has just met, to come to her bedsit.

Her trust issues stem from previous encounters with men, which were disastrous.

O’Riordan’s portrayal of a sensitive and disturbed young woman is utterly absorbing.

When she tells a story about a former flatmate who was unlucky in love, the suspicion is that she is talking about herself.

Blue Moon Theatre Company's official poster of #thewoolgatherer coming to @The_New_Theatre Apr 1st-13th RT@pjcoogan pic.twitter.com/9s6UNmk8y9

— Sinead O' Riordan Actor/Producer (@oriordansinead) February 21, 2013

Set in Philadelphia, the actors’ accents are spot on. There is an oblique reference to abuse as a child, but Rose doesn’t follow up the trucker’s fleeting mention of this.

Cliff, who has a humongous beard and a grizzly appearance, starts out as a cynic, spelling out the facts of the world to Rose. His performance is electrifying. Physically, he dominates the stage and towers over the petite Rose.

His monologues are never stagey. Both actors are natural, even though Rose is an odd creature with a fantasy world and a dream of being rescued by a man.

The shabby bedsit, with its boarded up window, is claustrophobic. Cliff’s towering presence is almost scary.

He is so mercurial that there is a fear he will attack Rose. But he reveals his tender side as the play progresses. He becomes obsessive about Rose, who both infuriates and fascinates him.

Rose, despite her vulnerability, is no pushover. She isn’t up for a one-night stand and is reluctant to allow Cliff back into her bedsit, when he returns one night. The sexual tension is palpable in this brilliant play.

*Until Saturday