Sanctuary

TV screenwriter Len Collin's thoughtful, poignant directorial debut reunites the cast of the Blue Teapot Theatre Company's 2012 production of Christian O'Reilly's play about the social and sexual realities of intellectual disability. At its core are Kieran Coppinger (who has Down's syndrome) and epileptic Charlene Kelly as Larry and Sophie, who want to explore the physical side of their relationship despite the law (pre-May 2017) limiting such activity to married couples. While they bribe care worker Robert Doherty into booking them a hotel room, their companions on a cinema trip to Galway slip away to enjoy their own adventures, with Emer Macken and Michael Hayes considering the finer points of flirting, Valerie Egan and Patrick Becker discovering the shopping centre, Jennifer Cox revelling in the Christmas fair, and Frank Butcher and Paul Connolly making the most of a booze offer in a local bar. This deft delight resolutely refuses to patronise the performers or the audience. It has a sincerity, wit and compassion that recalls Justin Edgar's 2005 short film Special People.