Fair Deal review – family ties are pushed to the limit in fizzing black comedy

The sale of the parental home triggers a generational showdown in Una McKevitt’s droll play about money, inheritance and caring for ageing relatives

On a brief stopover in Dublin to settle some scores, celebrity interior designer Sandra (Aislín McGuckin) makes a forceful impact. Una McKevitt’s black comedy brings members of the Thornton family together to mark the sale of their parental home. If family is the psychological battleground here, the house itself is alive with “triggering” elements, with designer Liam Doona’s faded decor and crammed furnishings playing a key part in the unfolding conflict.

Having inherited the house from her grandmother, Sandra’s estranged daughter Kiera (Caroline Menton) now envisages a new life, free from caring responsibilities and the watchful eye of her grandmother from her full-length portrait, which dominates the room. Upstairs, unseen, Kiera’s uncle Terry is lying in a coma, and about to be moved to a nursing home. A second uncle, Daragh, arrives: “a character actor, in demand”, played with downbeat charm by Garrett Lombard, as Kiera ushers Rio (Jack Weise) out of the house, following a quick hook-up that is so contrived it clearly signals trouble.

With Sandra’s whirlwind entrance from Los Angeles, spitting fury about her exclusion from the decision to sell the house, a showdown looks inevitable. Through McGuckin’s gleefully maniacal portrayal of Sandra the tone shifts from domestic realism towards farce. This glossy millionaire does not need the house, but wants it simply because she can’t have it.

With a background in documentary theatre, McKevitt has previously explored questions about caring for ageing relatives, and the balance between personal freedom and familial bonds. Here it is as if she can’t quite decide on the dramatic focus, and while the bickering about money and inheritance has the authentic ring of emotional resentment, it seems drawn-out and repetitive.

As Sandra’s anger towards her dead mother drives her to extremes, the action takes a welcome swerve into absurd physical comedy, directed by Conall Morrison with fizzing energy, inventive use of a garlic crusher – and anything else to hand. While a later twist is over elaborate, by this point there is no turning back, with Lombard’s brilliantly droll Daragh finally seizing his moment in the spotlight.

• At Abbey theatre, Dublin, until 28 March