For Dolores at Traverse Theatre – Edinburgh Fringe review

There is a searing, vital energy pulsing through Fishamble’s For Dolores at the Traverse Theatre. Written by Eva O’Connor and expertly directed by Jim Culleton, this brilliant two-hander tackles the messy, unvarnished realities of early-20s motherhood and the seismic shifts of early adulthood.

Presented in association with Lime Tree Theatre, Belltable, and the Galway International Arts Festival (where it ran earlier this year), the play features stellar performances from Catriona Faint and Lara McDonell: they star as Mo and Réaltín, two friends grappling with a chaotic bond forged during their Edinburgh student days. Written with a sharp, non-linear structure, the narrative traces their complex history as flash-forwards and retrospective monologues unspool the circumstances around the conception of Dolores, Réaltín’s daughter, as well as various tragedies and conflicts that bookend Dolores’ life so far.

Alyson Cummins’ set and costume design, seeing the pair dancing across trinkets and tokens from years gone by (Buckfast bottles, baby beakers etc), works in tandem with Suzie Cummins’ evocative lighting and Denis Clohessy’s pulsing sound design to keep the single-room setting electric.

What could easily feel static is kept dynamically alive by Culleton’s direction and Nóra Ní Anluain Fay’s striking movement choreography, which ensures the non-linear structure never turns stale.

But at the heart of the production lies the unconventional, magnetic chemistry between Faint and McDonell (McDonell was also excellent in The Hills of California for anyone West End-based). Their relationship is wonderfully rich, nuanced, and utterly convincing; you never doubt the authentic foundation of their friendship for a single second. Despite differing backgrounds and moments of sharp friction, there is a profound, underlying warmth, a sense that both women have been irrevocably elevated by the presence of the other.