Some nights at the theatre leave you in stitches. Not so with STITCHING.

This is a dour hour of time shifting game playing from here to maternity and there to paternity made palatable by two very fine performances

Abby and Stuart’s living room is made up of mesh wire walls and bench seats, a cage or coop, where these two lovers are trapped.

The play begins with them coming to terms with her pregnancy. What do they want, what don’t they want. Obviously, the pregnancy was not planned.  Stuart asks if it’s his.

Grounds for termination of relationship if nothing else. But, hey, who’s to dispute the Freudian sado/masochistic bedrock of all liaisons? Tied, tried, and an element of truth, but here tired, tied and the element of truth not fluidly explored.

STITCHES feels like Woolf tracking – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf comes brilliantly to mind with the wreck of a relationship smashing on the rugged coast of accusations and pejorative. However STITCHES isn’t a patch on Albee.

Company founders of Little Spoon Theatre, Lara Lightfoot and Wade Doolan play the conflicted couple with an enormous amount of commitment and I can’t wait to see either of these two terrific performers again. They appear to be able to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

Anna Gardiner’s design is wonderfully simple and evocative, whilst Liam O’Keeefe’s lighting is straight out of Lucifer once he became Prince of Darkness.

STITCHING opened at the Tap Gallery, Darlinghurst on the 27th March and is playing till the 12th April. Performances: 8pm Tuesday – Saturday. Saturday matinee 12th April 2pm. Strictly 18+