The Deep Space, Old Red Lion, review Prompted by a news item, Lila Whelan wrote this play in order to explore some of the reasons why people might be driven to commit a crime so horrifying most people would find it difficult to believe. In this intelligent and gently layered play, Whelan pieces together events from the distant and recent past from the life of a character who deliberately set fire to her house, thereby killing her children and husband. It's made all the more uncomfortable because of the echoes within the piece of a trial currently taking place in the north of England. The device of revealing the truth backwards must have been used countless times in countless plays. It can easily seem tired, but with impressive instinct, Whelan picks just the moments that click in your mind and make you suddenly realise, of course, nothing is ever simple. Whelan herself plays Caitlin, the sister of a young woman who is being kept in a cell after what seems to be an awful accident. The relationship, however, is far from familial: Caitlin is a sharp-suited lawyer-type over from New York to grill the young woman. To begin with it's not even clear that they are related, but this, you come to understand, is another factor behind the tragedy. It's a sensitive subject and Whelan never excuses: the horror of the final act is acute right until the very end. But what unfolds in front of our eyes is the story of a vulnerable, abused young woman, pushed along the road further and further to her final destination. It's not a perfect script, but Whelan deals with a complex situation deflty and admirably, and the lead, Abbiegale Duncan, gives an excellent performance. Claude Girardi's production is well-paced, but there's a misguided set - little boxes placed on a wire mesh wall light up during flashback scenes, but they are too small to properly see what they are which makes it difficult to understand what their relevance is. It is distracting in the small Old Red Lion theatre. On the whole, though, it's likely that this show will keep you fascinated right up to its awful conclusion. The Deep Space is on at the Old Red Lion Theatre until March 9 www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk