Have you ever wondered about the life you could have lived? Heaven, the Australian premiere of Irish playwright Eugene O’Brien’s award-winning play, delves into that very question through the lives of a middle-aged married couple offered a chance to reimagine their choices.

Set in rural Ireland, Heaven follows Mal (Noel Hodda – Seventeen) and Mairead (Lucy Miller – Ophelia Thinks Harder) over the course of a wedding weekend, when old flames reignite and buried desires resurface.

O’Brien’s work was the winner of the 2023 Irish Times Award for Best New Play and a Scotsman Fringe First Award. Told through alternating, interweaving monologues, the production is stripped bare – no props, no set, and no interaction between the characters. The storytelling rests entirely on the actors’ shoulders, and they deliver. Their words conjure scenes so detailed, you barely notice the stage is empty.

As the couples personal stories unfold, Heaven becomes increasingly enthralling. There’s humour in the honesty, too. Mal’s night of release is surprisingly funny, even shocking at times.

Mairead and Mal are in their fifties, married for over two decades. At first glance, they appear to be a happily married couple — but it’s more complex than that. They are more pals than lovers. Mal is quiet, calm and supportive. Mairead is his opposite: brash, passionate, and unapologetically loud in a striking red dress.

The romantic side of their life has stopped, and you get the feeling that they didn’t so much as settle but made a choice. Depending on your own experiences, this is where you could feel sympathy for the couple. Mal has denied his true sexuality his entire life and Mairead is sexually frustrated, still thinking about her wild, all-consuming first love.

In Heaven, both characters reach a breaking point — a moment when any excuse becomes reason enough to finally let go and act upon the lives they secretly long for.

Led by Australian theatre director Kate Gaul, Heaven is an emotionally rich, character-driven piece. The performances by Hodda and Miller are captivating. Their bodies support their stories through subtle physical movements, in particular Miller who licks her lips while describing her lover and rolls her hips seductively as she relives their ‘ride’. By the end of the performance, she is holding back tears, and Hodda’s voice is cracking with emotion.

Some lines are lost in the rush of Miller’s quick-fire delivery, but when she slows, her storytelling is magnetic.

This show best suits a mature audience. Not necessarily older, but those who have lived, lost, compromised, and wondered “what if?”

4 stars.

No intermission

Heaven is a Bitchen Wolf production. Playing at Qtopia until 31 May 2025.

For more information visit Qtopia