Contradictions abound in this comedy of the absurd, written and directed by Hugh Jordan. There is the girl (Helen Plummer) who is fishing in a pond with no fish and who is much older than she looks; there is the wife (Caroline Norton) who has a fixation for her son but she really would have preferred a daughter and there is the husband (James Thomas Williams) who spends much time in the garden but is he actually doing any gardening? Despite this complex mix, the husband actually gives the most perfect advice on how to look after roses. As the play develops it may be that these characters were fated to meet and perhaps resolve the loss of the husband and wife’s son who was killed on active service as a soldier. The direction is crisp and the three characters are played beautifully with a mix of passionate intensity and quiet sensitivity. It is spellbinding theatre. ****