If you are after a jolly, rousing Christmas show – one that might make you walk out filled with the joys of the festive season and ready to sing ‘Step into Christmas’ at the top of your lungs – then I fear Tea Set at the White Bear Theatre is not for you. If you are more of a Grinch who hates Christmas, then this might be right up your street.

Tea Set is a one-women show set in that void space between Christmas and new year in 1999 (I still don’t really know why – maybe for the supposed poignancy of a ‘new millennium’, or maybe just for the sheer hell of it). It tells the story of an unnamed girl who, for various reasons, takes a job looking after an elderly woman whose family have gone away on holiday.

I say “tells the story” – what I really mean is that the girl (Amy Molloy) sits at a table in front of a bar that has been covered in a black sheet and tells us this story, with the help of accents. We hear how she takes an instant dislike to the woman’s daughter, for no apparent reason other than her leaving her mother at home while going on holiday, and being upper middle class. The girl and the woman bond quickly over having bad Christmases – two lonely souls over the holidays – and the old lady ends up confiding in the girl more than she expected.

Once the plot gets going it rattles on fairly predictably, apart from a few twists. I found myself thinking that this one-woman show would benefit from a few more characters, or even just one: the elderly lady. As a two-hander, the play would perhaps work better. Currently the show feels like the bare bones of a good story, but one that’s been rushed and haphazardly put together.

Hats must go off to Amy Molloy, as she clearly has some serious acting chops and – dare I say it – saves the piece from being completely terrible. There are also some moments of great writing from Gina Moxley that shine through, but I don’t know if either are strong enough to carry the whole play. If this had been a scratch performance I would be looking forward to the fully developed piece, but as it is I rather felt like I had watched a very detailed synopsis.

The programme notes tell me that this is a “story that needs to be heard”, and I agree. However, this monologue of a play does not do that story justice.

Tea Set played at the White Bear Theatre.