Theatre: Is There Balm in Gilead?

By Michael Harding, Bewley’s Cafe Theatre, Dublin until December 8

Taking its title from Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem, The Raven, Michael Harding’s short play Is There Balm in Gilead? takes atmosphere more seriously than structure or plot.

A floor-board creaks in the near-distance, a cat is stalking across the room unseen and the dark red velvet draped stage of Bewley’s Cafe Theatre is candle-lit, flickering as figures cross the stage. Who they ...