I ignored the dry ice. I am not generally a fan of this effect, as it smells quite sickly. It reminds me of Cheers nightclub in Limerick, during the slow set at the end of the night, when I was eighteen. The cider would have kicked in and I’d be feeling tired and emotional at the thought that I’d never be in love, because I would be taking my dirty secret – being theatrical– to my grave with me.

Once the crowd had settled – which didn’t take long, as the theatre is very small holding only about fifty seats – it began with a discordant, vaguely eerie kind of music laid over the Angelus bells.

The action began. The three women were playing troublesome teenage schoolgirls called Sam (Katie Honan); Jess (Aisling O’Mara) and Dee (Amilia Stewart). After vandalising a teacher’s car, they are sent as punishment on a study retreat to county Wicklow (accompanied by their vinegar lipped teacher – also played by Honan – to indicate when she was in teacher mode, she struck a pose, pursed her lips and started braying in a country accent – it was hilarious).

Before they are sent away they are issued a stark warning by their grandmother (played by O’Mara) not to go. The crows would be waiting, and horror was in store.

Once on the retreat they discover that juvenile delinquents from other schools would also be present. Including boys.

And I won’t give any spoilers – but Granny may have been right.

It’s an excellent play. The three actors give outstanding performance – at times hilarious, other times heart-breaking. The dialogue is constant, the movements fluid, and all three slipped seamlessly into various characters, while there was never any confusion for the audience as to which character they were playing. They captured that spirit of teenage girls and boys – bolshie, tribal, brutal, vulnerable, loyal. The most impressive performance to my untrained eye was by Honan – purely because I loved her portrayal of the bitter vengeful alcoholic teacher so much.

The script was tight, and only occasionally required a suspension of disbelief – the main one being to my literal mind, the unlikelihood of three inner city schoolgirls being sent on a weekend study retreat as a punishment.

The pace was frenetic – which added to the growing tension on stage.

It was written by Lee Coffey, and directed by Karl Shiels.

Running for just under one hour, I would highly recommend you go see this one. It runs until next Saturday at Theatre Upstairs.