A modest house on William Street, Belfast in 1972 at the height of the Troubles is not just an address. In a sectarian city, its location signals both political and religious affiliations.

It is a crucible, within whose walls, family members fight for survival, as all around them, violence escalates. When IRA - but also family man – Sean O’Shea (a commanding Tyler Cowie) mentions ‘going out on Sunday,’ it is not to the corner shop. When he reappears at the end of that fateful Bloody day, wild-eyed, his hands stained crimson, whose blood is on them is unexplained. You couldn’t, didn’t, daren’t ask.

Sean demands absolute loyalty from his family, yet he endangers them with compromising or murderous missions. His spirited wife Patricia (a zealous Chloe Downes) is sent to secure useful intel from British soldiers. Yet in a queasy switchback of moods, Sean accuses her of being ‘coddled up with a fuckin’ Brit’.

Much is expected of their son Ruairi (mesmerising Tom Martin), who despite protesting ‘I’m not built for this’, disappears to do his father’s bidding. When he confronts his sensitive sister Jane’s (Esme Anderton) Protestant boyfriend Andrew Matthews (a bewildered Campbell Andersen), we see him for the pitiless killer he has become. Such is the atmosphere of violence evoked in writer/director Chloe Downes’ production, Andrew’s forced march outside into the darkness defeats hope.

Downes mines her own and others’ family stories: Patricia is based on her grandmother. Remembering her experience of growing up in Belfast, she brings the Troubles to a new generation.

‘What may seem such a small piece of history, yet for me is of great importance’, Downes writes. Key historic references in the play are coded, which for a contemporary audience risks occasional opacity (expanding the programme notes might help). A younger audience would have little idea of how the conflict featured nightly on news bulletins for years.

Meanwhile, the opening Beach Boys ‘Good vibrations’ proves anything but. Downes has illuminated Belfast’s conflict for a new generation, reflecting the personal cost of living through ‘interesting times.’