The ceasefire may have been in place in Ireland for several years now but the idea of land as a site of conflict continues to provide rich inspiration for Irish playwrights.
The rural border county of Monaghan is the setting for Jacqueline McCarrick's debut play, where bomb plots and the rumble of helicopters overhead are still the daily reality.
Laura has returned home here after a failed acting career in London, determined to bring up her unborn child in the land she loves. Casually employed as a mushroom picker, she soon catches the eye of her tempestuous boss Frank, nicknamed 'the grim reaper' by locals because of his rumoured involvement in the IRA.
For Catherine Cusack's sparky, sympathetic Laura, Ireland represents an emotional battlefield; she is conflicted by her overwhelming connection with her homeland while knowing it can never fulfil her acting dreams.
Frank, however, continues to stake out his passionate identification with the earth that provides his livelihood in political terms - although his exact involvement with the IRA isn't revealed until the unnecessarily explicit final scene.
McCarrick shows how the idea of Ireland versus its reality has always tormented its inhabitants, with the poetry of Monaghan poet Patrick Kavanagh frequently invoked. But she doesn't ask enough questions through her characters to suggest how this might affect Ireland's future.
And the subplot between Laura's charismatic, ageing father and his feisty, superstitious paramour offers plenty of entertainment of the Irish blarney variety, but also plenty of infuriating whimsy.
Until May 20, Southwark Playhouse, 62 Southwark Bridge Road SE1, Mon to Sat 7.30pm, May 20 mat 3pm, £12, £8 concs, Mon all seats £6. Tel: 020 7620 3494. www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk Tube: Borough
The Mushroom Pickers
