****

Declan Gorman's Hades, first produced by Drogheda's Upstate Live company in 1998, comes to the Dublin Fringe Festival festooned with critical plaudits and awards. It is worth the plaudits.

It is set in an Irish border town in modern times. Five actors create a host of characters in a particular time and place, living out the frustrations and tensions of ordinary living.

We meet a taxi driver, a priest, a young journalist, a thug, local politicians, girls and women, upper and lower crust citizens, bouncers, farmers and many others. A father worries about his wayward daughter, a farmer about debt, hotel maids pick up on scandals, a husband betrays his wife, seething humanity goes its myriad ways.

A kaleidoscope of sharply etched scenes, the play is more than the sum of its parts. The performances of Gerard Lee, Sinead Flynn, Ciaran Kenny, John Finegan and Sinead Douglas ensure that the entertainment is mighty.

Until Oct 21st at 8 p.m.