Best watched with a pint in the hand, there is no more convivial and captivating evening at the theatre than Josie Rourke’s faultless revival of Conor McPherson’s perfect play.

Tom Scutt’s design evokes exactly the run-down charm of a rural County Leitrim boozer and Rourke’s production shows the solitude of men who drink within.

You can see why the arrival of Valerie (Dervla Kirwan), a mysterious single woman, would cause a stir.

The ghostly stories constitute a kind of masculine bravado (the superb cast is led by the mesmerisingly macho — and tender — Brian Cox) until the one told by Valerie strikes her hosts dumb.