What is it with these Irish playwrights getting under my skin? This time it’s Conor McPherson:

…you know, it’s weird to accept what happiness really is… nothing is ever like anyone expects, is it, you know? Like, it’s not a fairy tale…. I mean it has to be just kind of ordinary, you know? A bit boring even, otherwise it’s probably not real, you know?

(It doesn’t really work without the Irish accent, you know?) That’s from Shining City, which I saw last night at Studio Theatre. It’s a deceptively simple play, consisting mainly of extended scenes in a Dublin therapist’s office. The bulk of the text comes from the patient’s storytelling (and they are masterful stories), delivered in a superbly real performance by Ed Gero. And Don Carrier’s therapist speaks just as compellingly in the way he. Just. Listens.

It’s a brilliant play and a lovely production. See it if you can (it’s playing through the end of the month).