Beginning review

The action unfolds in a single 110-minute scene that may test the patience of some audience members. But the power of Shanahan’s production is its suffocating intensity, as we experience every awkward and embarrassing moment of Laura and Danny’s halting courtship along with them.

TK Hay’s studio apartment set starts off as messy as the pair’s personal lives. But as the pair tidy up the detritus of Laura’s flat-warming party, fill the dishwasher and even cook and eat fishfinger sandwiches in real time, it is decluttered and they, too, gradually lay themselves bare.

Eldridge’s script takes some bold swings. Some moments – such as the revelation that Laura has engineered the situation to give her a longed-for baby, and Danny’s agreement to father another child whose life he might not play much of a role in – are hard to swallow. But the cast here make you believe in them. Kearns impresses as skittish, buttoned-down Danny. But it is Shanagher as Laura who draws you in. 

Nowhere is this more evident than when she is singing and dancing along, uninhibited and hilarious, to Bros’ I Owe You Nothing. It’s a fully rounded, emotionally vulnerable, physically unfettered performance that makes you want these two lost souls to find some solace in each other’s company.