Heaven at the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh

The Irish are great storytellers. So when Eugene O'Brien (with a name like that he has to be Irish) wrote a piece which was then handled and performed by multi-award-winning Irish theatre-makers Fishamble, magic really happened.

After winning a multitude of awards, following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023, Heaven is making a triumphant return to the Traverse Theatre this week.

It's a shame it isn't being performed in Traverse 1. Traverse 2 is a smaller space, thus restricting audience numbers. But, because of the nature of the show, the intimate space is, perhaps, just right for it.

Married couple Mairead and Mal return to their middle Ireland home town after 20 years for a family wedding. Memories come flooding back, of former loves and fantasies, and the past and present is played out in the form of monologues. The fact that two people can hold us spellbound while talking about their ordinary (and not so ordinary) lives, is down to O'Brien's beautifully poignant writing, superbly delivered by Janet Moran, who has already won a Best Actress Award for this role, and Andrew Bennett. I could have kept on listening all night

Heaven is at the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh until March 1,

Box Office: 0131 228 1404

traverse.co.uk