3.5 out of 5 stars

In Mark O'Rowe's "The Approach," the plot emerges only through an intricately crafted spiral of coffee-shop chats. Three women with mutual history meet in pairs over time, sharing their latest travails -- especially their romances -- and discussing whichever one of their trio isn't present. Amid cheery small talk, dissonances and disappointments surface and it turns out that seeds of sadness were there all along. Three engaging actresses (Carmen M. Herlihy, Kate MacCluggage, Danielle Ryan) keenly navigate the script's nuances -- but the intentional stretches of stereotypical chitchat can get dullish for the audience at times.— Adam Z. Horvath

At Irish Rep, through May 10; irishrep.org.(Review date: April 13, 2026)