IN ONE Under, a paranoid young man unexpectedly throws himself in front of a train and those affected adopt contrary and sometimes conflicting mechanisms in order to come to terms with the tragedy in Winsome Pinnock’s reworking of her 2005 play.

Staged as a series of duologues between the characters before and after the suicide, it’s a play that never really ignites. The concept is fascinating but the characters rarely break free of the contrived dialogue and while the cast works hard to give their roles traction their lines frequently serve the theatrical conceit at the expense of empathetic characterisation.

Stanley Browne’s tortured train driver creates a fantasy around the dead boy that requires Shenagh Govan as his adoptive mother and Evlyne Oyedokun as her other adopted child to play along. Inevitably, tensions ensue.

Interspersed with these scenes are those with the disturbed Sonny (Reece Pantry) who, pre-suicide, is attempting to make up for imagined offences by pampering Claire-Louise English’s troubled dry cleaner.

Amelia Hankin’s set, simple and stylish, hints at the scene of the incident yet fails to counteract the contrived nature of the interactions or elevate the use of heavy symbolism, as characters assume the roles of shift workers cleaning Tube lines as a form of catharsis.

Amit Sharma’s direction enables the characters to inhabit the same space and be ever present in each other’s drama but fails to breathe independent life into roles enmeshed by their dramatic function.

How suicides affect the living is a potent theme. But when the audience remain emotionally untouched by the drama, something has to be amiss in the nature of its depiction.

Runs until December 21, box office: arcolatheatre.com