The Communication Cord, Haymarket Theatre, Until November 6

FINALLY, the Irish season at the Haymarket comes completely alive with John Adams' warm and sparkling direction of Brian Friel's little-known work, The Communication Cord.

Set in Friel's traditional territory of the fictional village of Ballybeg, in the factual county of Donegal, it manages to combine physical comedy with verbal wit in a most seductive fashion, creating many laugh-out loud moments as scenarios escalate towards their hilariously-inevitable conclusions.

And not only that - it was first performed in the Guildhall in my own home town of Derry in Northern Ireland. I'm definitely proud.

Kevin O'Leary plays the most central figure, the "ugly and penniless" Tim Gallagher, who, in an attempt to seduce the "beautiful and rich" daughter of Senator Doctor Donovan (Eric Richard), concocts a plan with his friend Jack (John Paul Connolly) to borrow the latter's thatched cottage for an hour one sunny afternoon.

The hope is that this house will so impress the pretentious doctor that he will help Tim with his career teaching at a university, finishing off his thesis on "talk".

But the intervention of the local busybody (a wonderful Eileen Pollock), and misunderstood German neighbour (a very comic Alan Blyton), as well as a few girlfriends of note, all converging upon this cottage, throw the plans into more than disarray.

As horrific this is for the participants, it is delightful to regard.

The performances across the board convey a real joy in the material, and the casting has clearly reaped rewards for the nuances and the bounce which Adams and his cast have teased from the sometimes wordy material.

O'Leary is an absolute joy, fizzing with panic as his lies become ever more ridiculous, and, indeed, he and his happy cohorts increasingly come to life as the play approaches the hilarious end of the longer first half.

They have been aided by a lovely set, which has the standard low cottage door and gives the actors space to inhabit and spread the farce - underwear jokes, misunderstood vocabulary and falling over, all hitting the mark anywhere and everywhere.

And mention must be made of the expert lighting, which accentuates sea blues and golden sands, then conveys candle light, sunlight and twilight, and even then again turns the space into a claustrophobic nightmare - some feat.

In the end, a little less conversation - i.e. smooching - results in a lot more action than Tim expects.

But you'll just have to go and witness that brilliant moment for yourself.