What can stand between a mother and her child? And more importantly, what should? These questions and many more regarding power and love resonate throughout this drama directed and written by Oisín Kearney, in which Garrick (Clodagh Mooney Duggan) is a single mother introduced to us via a living room interrogation she’s being subjected to by social worker Heggarty (Patrick McBrearty) who has progressively deeper concerns regarding her son Max as we delve deeper and deeper into her life.

Nothing is as it seems here, and the tension dominating the play is present from the first minute. Both Garrick and Heggarty are richly drawn characters who we slowly come to know as murky details of their lives are revealed with perfect pacing thanks to Kearney’s firm direction and the expert talents of both performers. McBrearty finds a wonderful balance between Heggarty’s natural kindness and the duties his role force upon him, while Duggan seamlessly shifts from cat to mouse and back again as she succeeds and fails at keeping Heggarty in the dark until the truth finally outs.

When that truth does emerge however the themes of the show become a little mixed, and many initially arresting themes such as the questionable power the state may hold when separating a parent from their child, are largely forgotten as the narrative becomes increasingly specific to Garrick and Heggarty’s own very particular personalities. In its final moments the play becomes far more about two unusually damaged people rather than the universal figures of parent and social worker that they embodied from the start, and though this may be intentional the play is at its best when Garrick and Heggarty manage to feel as if they’re somehow both people and archetypes at once.

This is likely due to the fact that the many revelations toward the end of the play fail to hit the mark as well as they could, coming thick and fast in a fairly bumpy ending. Garrick is shown to be ready to go to any lengths to get what she wants, but it’s unclear what her main driving motivation is in doing so especially when her troubled experience of motherhood is made clear, while Heggarty’s wavering resolve and secret desires could have done with a little more foreshadowing before they take centre-stage.

Still, these are issues easily addressed by further development of the script, and even with these bumps the narrative that Kearney and the team have created with support from producer Gina Donnelly is easily one of the standout dramas of the 2026 Fringe. If it’s on anywhere near you soon, you owe it to yourself to grab a ticket ASAP.

Reviewed by Harry Conway.

Four Stars

Ran: 6th – 31st Aug 2026.

Venue: Summherall, Tech Cube Zero