Eileen O’Higgins (Anya) and Irfan Shamji (Ash) in The Cord [Manuel Harlan]

BIJAN Sheibani’s The Cord explores the experience of being a parent for the first time and the pressure on adult relationships.

Ash (Irfan Shamji) and Anya (Eileen O’Higgins) struggle to adapt to the new rhythms their baby dictates. Their lack of sleep increasingly takes its toll on their marriage.

Ash is resentful of Anya’s bond with their child as she feeds him. He’s frustrated that her mum appears to have an open invite to see their son whereas visits to his parents have to be carefully planned.

There are suggestions that his mother, Jane (Lucy Black), suffered post-natal depression after his birth and Ash tries to talk to her about this, to better understand his own conflicted emotions.

The action takes place on an elevated, pristinely carpeted stage, the audience seated in-the-round. A cellist, Colin Alexander, sits in one corner, underscoring the characters’ shifts in mood as Ash learns how to be a father.

Sheibani is no stranger to domestic drama – he wrote several stonkingly good episodes of Netflix’s adaptation of One Day by David Nicholls – and his slant towards the challenges of fatherhood is refreshing.

Although well-acted, some of the dialogue occurs from the corners of the stage (where the cast take their seats between scenes) leaving an empty central space. One suspects Sheibani (who also directs) wanted to emphasise the distance between the characters as they strive to connect.

Beautifully written, the play will strike a chord with new parents but its narrow focus and gentle pace risks the rest of us feeling left out in the cold.

Until May 25
bushtheatre.co.uk/