Unfaithful

Drama so often lies in the things that are left unsaid. The secrets, the suppressed desires, the regrets. The same goes for Owen McCafferty’s new play, which finds its true subject not in adulterous trysts but in our devastating inability to communicate with one another.

Tom and Joan are partners of over 30 years, left newly alone together following their daughter’s flight from the nest. After decades of fidelity, they are both feeling restless. Also restless is younger woman Tara, who approaches Tom in a hotel bar in a bid for adventure. The traitorous moment of their meeting, however, is less significant than the subsequent fallout, as the parties involved say either too little or too much.

Avoiding the more lurid possibilities of his set-up, McCafferty recognises that there is more than one way of being unfaithful. He casts an unblinking eye over the less photogenic realities of long-term relationships, revealing that we can only ever know and understand one another so far. Against the aptly bland backdrop of designer Gary McCann’s series of impersonal rooms, two very different couples speak a language of lies and evasion.

A touch of existential crisis adds another layer to the piece, but McCafferty’s drama is essentially a self-contained tale of marital disappointment and bungled communication. Rachel O’Riordan’s production is suitably understated, as are the four strong yet unshowy performances. As poignantly truthful as McCafferty’s observations often are, however, there is little new to learn here about the inarticulacy and unwitting cruelty of human beings.