Actors’ Summit’s production of Chapatti, by Christian O’Reilly is a study of contrasts. Dan lives a life of darkness. His small rented bungalow is dark with heavy curtains drawn much like he has covered his soul from the small joys that dance just outside his existence. His only companion and “speak-mate” is a small mongrel terrier named Chapatti that he found as a stray when doing the last of his construction work in London and fed him part of his Indian cuisine lunch, thus the name for the dog and the play.

“Chap,” as Dan calls him, is the only thing keeping the sad retiree from making his “final journey.” When more or less bum rushed from the vet’s office after Chap is found “well enough for his age,” Dan decides to end it all. It was at the vet that Dan could interact with other pet owners and keep his connection with humanity.

....The other part of this complicated equation is Betty. She is around Dan’s age and widowed from a loveless marriage. In spite of that (and the nineteen cats plus a fresh box of kittens) Betty is a life of mirth and light. She spends her days caring for an elderly woman, Peggy, who owns a sixteen year old cat, Prudence. Between the Betty and Prudence they are the only reason the old woman gets out of bed each day.

The two love starved souls (Dan and Betty) meet by accident when Dan plows into Betty while leaving the Vet’s Office for the last time causing Betty to drop a box of kittens. He is drawn by her lovely laugh and sparkling demeanor. They meet again when Dan involuntarily gets involved in finding the owner of a dead cat....

....Neil Thackaberry* plays Dan with aplomb. He keeps the accent under control so that it does not become a distraction. He successfully navigates the choppy waters of a sad man who suddenly rediscovers glimpse of happiness. Anne McEvoy as Betty delights as the Yang side of the production to Dan’s Ying. Her laugh is infectious as are her mannerisms. The two work well together as they discover each other over the course of the play.

The set consists of two chairs, a small table, a clothes rack with small table and a rolling tea cart. The rest of the “props” (including the kittens and dog) are conjured up for our imaginations to see.

Shooting From The Lip (An Opinion):... charming at its core and extremely well acted...... It is the happy/sad play that will have you thinking about a lot of issues.

“Chapatti” will be on stage at Actors’ Summit from Feb. 26 through March 13, 2016. Show Days and Times are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Actors’ Summit serves up simple, charming ‘Chapatti’

Place two chairs on a stage and put Anne McEvoy and Neil Thackaberry in them and great theater is likely to result. And it does in Actors’ Summit’s production of “Chapatti,” a new play by Irish playwright Christian O’Reilly.

This one-act two-hander has all the elements for which this theater and its audience have a particular fondness: Romance, good writing, simple production values, and the founding artistic director walking the boards......

The play examines the evolution of a November romance between two very lonely, very likable people who happen to live just around the block from one another. Dan, whose beloved mutt lends his name to the title of this play......... Betty, a self-confessed cat lady, lived through a loveless marriage and has given up hope of ever loving or being loved by anything on two legs.

The writing is simple, charming ..........but its presentation is deceptively and enjoyably sophisticated. While the two neighbors are strangers, they speak in direct-address to the audience and narrate their sorry, unassuming lives. This turns into self-reflective monologues when the two discover each other and then evolves into witty dialogue once they connect and a relationship takes hold.

The stage is bare save for two chairs and a coat rack between them that is used alternately by Dan and Betty in their respective working-class homes in Dublin. The simple set is surrounded by blackness which, while uninspiring artistically, serves to focus all our attention on the two actors and their heartfelt and empathetic performances.

Mcevoy’s Betty is a warm and sensitive soul, and ..Thackaberry... brilliant handling of the more emotional moments in the play.........Director Brian Zoldessy does well to stay out of the way of these seasoned performers while making sure that their talents and those of the playwright are front and center.