This is only the second play by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, who already is being hailed as a bright, new important addition to the theater scene for her “gift for combining the lyrical and the eccentrically comic” and her “shrewd psychological insights.” (Paul Taylor, The Independent)  Set in Sligo, Ireland, it concerns the Kennedy family, deserted by the mother fifteen years ago, leaving her three daughters, her alcoholic husband (David Bradley), and her mother Lily, played with verve by Annette Crosbie.  Into their lives arrives a handsome young screen actor (John Light) to lodge with them while a film crew shoots a movie about the love of William Butler Yeats and Maud Gonne.  He dances with Lily and has an affair with Rose (Justine Mitchell), one of the sisters.  Meanwhile, the oldest sister Judith (Susan Lynch) joins her father in a drinking contest in the pub, abandoning her usual responsibilities and looking up a former lover. (Lloyd Hutchinson).  Ms. Lenkiewicz wins praise from Benedict Nightingale of the Times for the “ movingly reported and beautifully written” offstage meeting between Judith and her mother.  Lucy Bailey directs the play at the Cottesloe Theatre.  Tickets and performance schedule: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.

Shoreditch Madonna

Shoreditch Madonna takes place in Shoreditch, East London, where three young men organize at their “art space” studio and gallery (formerly a bakery) a retrospective show and forum honoring Devlin (Leigh Lawson), a once-celebrated artist but now a broken down alcoholic living in Bulgaria. The young men are handsome Nick (Adam Croasdell), with whom Michael (Daniel Rabin) is hopelessly in love, and shy, virginal Hodge (Lee Ingleby). Arriving at the art space to encounter Devlin after twelve years is former student and lover Martha (Francesca Annis), also the worse for wear but a sexy, feisty survivor who still cares for him.

 With Sean Mathias directing, the scenes in the studio are intercut with those in a room belonging to Christina (Alexandra Moen), a beautiful young woman distraught over the death of her lover by drug overdose. For companionship, she hires Nick, who falls in love with her.  The clever juxtaposition of the scenes in the two settings, without transition, gives the effect of modern art: the action is clear and direct, with minimal explanation; exposition and interpretation are inferred by the viewer.  In addition to the clever interweaving of the two areas of action, Ms. Lenkiewicz’s dialogue is clear-cut, filled with humor and wry observation.

Intriguing comparison and contrast between the younger trio and the older twosome adds a rich subtext.  Leigh Lawson’s Devlin may be as witty and sex-obsessed as he is disheveled, but he is mourning a genuine loss – the accidental death of his daughter through his preoccupation with reading about the Marquis de Sade and the erection it prompted.  A jail sentence for having an affair with a 15-year-old girl adds to his checkered past and present cynicism.  Francesca Annis glows as the middle-aged, worn beauty who affects shabby chic and literally joins in the dance, her devotion to Devlin still apparent.  She is responsible for two of the play’s most memorable moments – when she volunteers to introduce Hodge to the wonders of sex, and when, at the end, she redeems Devlin’s hope with news that will not be disclosed here.

Ms. Lenkiewicz has served as writer in residence at the Soho Theatre, which encourages new playwrights.  (Soho Theatre, Dean Street, London W1; phone: 0870 429 6883)