KEY POINTS:
A play about war and family relationships should satisfy an audience's appetite for destruction, gut-wrenching conflict and emotional carnage.
The set-up for Christopher Shinn's Dying City sounds promising for drama junkies.
New York therapist Kelly Conners is packing up her apartment and leaving for a better life that she hopes will be free of memories of her dead husband, Craig.
Together they survived 9/11 but their future together was snuffed out when he was killed in Iraq. Kelly just wants to forget Craig - but then his twin, Peter, arrives unannounced with emails from her "dead" husband.
Dying City meets the Silo standard for compelling contemporary theatre in many ways: an interesting script from a hot international writer, a talented and very watchable cast and cohesive costume, set, lighting and sound design.
And it is something of a coup that this production of Dying City is only the second to be staged in the world. We are seeing it less than a year after its London debut and three weeks before it goes on Broadway.
The problem is that the marketing promised a visceral experience and a psychological thriller. But for me the drama was somehow muted and almost bloodless.
In this production war is not so much hell as just another stress on a marriage, such as high mortgage repayments.
Rather than the gut-wrenching drama promised by the marketing it is more of a domestic drama.
For Shinn the war lies within and our loved ones damage us more than any terrorist.
Although I wasn't bowled over by dramatic tension, I enjoyed the performances of the play's two well-cast actors.
Edwin Wright takes on his dual roles with ease. Thanks to his skill it is easy to work out which brother he is playing at any given time.
With Peter being a self-obsessed gay actor and Craig a straight duty-bound soldier it would be easy for an actor to rely on stereotypes but Wright's subtle performance gives each brother enough layers to be real.
Dena Kennedy, as grieving widow Kelly, also creates a believable characterisation in her role as a therapist more used to dealing with other people's crises then her own.
Her wide-eyed sadness hints at pain she is determined to leave behind.
The design is well-conceived and well-executed. John Verryt's stylishly bland New York loft is simple but effective and Victoria Ingram's costumes are just right for the characters.
Another standout design feature is Andrew McMillan's soundtrack that includes a number of devastatingly sad Martha Wainwright songs.
While watching Dying City, I couldn't help but think about The Goat and The Mercy Seat - other Silo productions that investigated themes of war and marriage with powerful results.
With Dying City, director Shane Bosher has created an evening of high-quality drama that will make you think - but the blood and guts is missing from the action.
Until: March 3
