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The Lost O’Casey takes its inspiration from a forgotten Sean O’Casey play, Nannie’s Night Out, performed at the Abbey Theatre only once in 1924. O’Casey’s subject matter is forcefully thrust onto the streets of contemporary inner city Dublin with flawless execution by ANU Productions under the guidance of Louise Lowe.

In an unconventional fashion, foreshadowing what is to come, the performance begins several paces from the steps of the Gate Theatre. Along with three other keen punters, I am greeted by Boxty, a somewhat disheveled but undoubtedly charismatic gentleman. Donning a tattered cap and winter jacket several sizes too large, he continues to lead us up the street towards the Abbey Presbyterian Church. Boxty, an architecture enthusiast, is visibly impassioned by the Gothic flourishes of the building – resembling ‘frozen music’, in his words.

Not far from Hugh Lane Gallery, we meet the second character – Budgie. The encounter with Budgie is at first disconcerting. Confused by the intrusion of Boxty’s rambling monologue, I am whisked away from Boxty and the others, and onwards toward a block of council flats on Dorset Street.

The performance continues in a similar structure. I am led through different rooms within the council flats (which are to be demolished imminently), each room filled with new scenarios, new stories, new people. A fragmentary narrative highlights the normality of tragedy in the lives of these people. Polly emotionally recounts her surreal dreams as her hopes of her husband’s return dwindles. Jonny swells with anger as he thinks back to his failures in the boxing ring. In one of the most harrowing sequences in the performance, Nannie, a homeless, alcoholic thirty-something arrives at the flats bloodied and intoxicated. She talks of her acceptance of death, and her overwhelming fear of ‘being forgotten’. She slips a hairband on to my wrist, asking me not to forget her. There is a palpable feeling of dread and loss among the ensemble.

Behind each of the actors in the cast is a real person. The stark reality of Dublin’s spiralling housing and homelessness crisis adds an immediate sense of acute distress to the performance. By locating the action in the very streets where the crisis is unravelling, The Lost O’Casey achieves in its effort to give a voice to the people in our city who are afraid of being ‘forgotten’. As we paced the environs of the Gate Theatre, it was hard to ignore the shadow of 34 North Frederick Street looming large.

This is a stunning production, which faces contemporary social issues on our doorstep, and should not be missed.

The Lost O’Casey, produced by ANU Productions and The Abbey Theatre, is running as part of Dublin Theatre Festival 2018. It runs at the Gate Theatre until 12th October