It’s no secret that I’m a fan of THEATREclub and I’ve got last year’s Fringe to thank for that. That said, my approach to their first show (one of three) in this year’s programme was mixed. I arrived with expectations subdued. I left mesmerised and in awe of writer and director Grace Dyas.

“HEROIN is the story you were never told about the new republic, of the person you never saw, of what you built and them demolished.”

2 years in the making, HEROIN is a compelling and powerful portrayal of a dark side of Dublin that I know little about and receives little attention now that the only story in town is the recession.

I wish there was a record of my life. Like CCTV.

Three characters – Barry, Ryan and Lauren – play actors who each want to tell their story. Barry is the cornerstone of the show – he directs and narrates the performance as well as telling his own experience of life tainted by heroin. He delivered the most powerful performance I have seen in Fringe or indeed on stage in quite a while.

It’s fine though coz none of this is really happening. They’re telling us it’s not happening.

You could feel a sort of a magnetic tension in the room as the audience got increasingly drawn into the emotional, sad and difficult story unfolding.

It’s no accident that HERION has been getting four star reviews from the Irish Times and Irish Theatre Magazine. I’ve had the bones of this review sitting in draft since Friday because I simply don’t know how to do it justice.

Go and see it before it ends in Smock Alley this Friday. Book the individual show or get all 3 THEATREclub shows for €32 via links on their page www.theatreclubbing.com.