Behind Closed Walls by Daryl J Blair. The Brockley Jack Studio, 410 Brockley Road, London SE 4 to 29 October 2022. 3***. William Russell.

This first play by Daryl J Blair started life in the Camden Fringe and now arrives in good working order at the Brockley Jack Sudio. It is an interesting two hander set in Northern Ireland sometime in the future when a hard border exists between North and South and a young recruit has been seized by the IRA of the time and is being interrogated by a young, inexperienced hooded volunteer. The result is in part a game of cat and mouse with the cat, Shea (Eoin O'Dubhghoill) proving inexperienced and the hooded recruit, Gary (Tiernan Mullane).

, more than a match for him. The future setting hardly matters, rather it is how the game, a matter of life and death, is played out and the revelations that come about as the two men fight for their lives are not what you expect. The performances are good, the tension is well built up by director Blair. Neither is quite what they seem, but that is to be expected,and one does wonder why the recruit was quite so foolish as to venture out to look up some locals while in uniform. But it is to quibble. The play lasts an hour, the two players are on form, and the suspense as to who will survive is held right up to the final blackout.

Gary: Tiernan Mullane.

Shea: Eoin O'Dubhghoill.

Director: Daryl J Blair.

Production Photoraphy: Max Curtis.