Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. Canada House isn’t one of them.

The floors are dirty. The language is raw. The souls that inhabit the space are people that not only fell through the cracks of society but are also those that won’t ever be climbing back out.

First time playwright J. Karol Korcynski has created a near masterpiece in his debut offering. It’s a dark world suspended by desperation and hopelessness, dislocation and impecuniousness that is stiflingly real and repugnantly uncomfortable. And within the confines of the filth, three characters become connected by fate and abomination.

Canada House is an extraordinarily sophisticated story whereby sharp, crisp dialogue rules the day. From the early moments of the play there’s a sense that the material is far too real and penned by a person that has had a first hand observation of ghetto culture.

Has Graham Cozzubbo gained a similar perspective on his paths? How else can he tap the marrow of social sickness and still deliver that ripened humour that accentuates the text? The director injects thrills and chills in all the right veins giving this production the highest of highs.

And then there’s the cast that can only be measured in rushes to the brain.

The first discharge is courtesy of Wendy Thatcher. The Shaw Festival veteran gives Sally, a dirty, gritty layer that misfortune cannot crack. Watching this actor return to period productions will never quite be the same after this run.

The unambiguously resplendent Daniel Kash who portrays the loyal, integral, yet fallible, Louis, underscores her efforts. Kash has one of the best broken English accents to hit the stage and the depth he reaches with his character is unbridled.

Brian Marler’s underground smallpin, Ray, is the theatrical fix that elevates the play to a superior level of consciousness. His Tom Cruiseian looks compounded by an impeccable delivery of boyish charm and drug lord dismay leaves you in awe.

The only irritation of the script is the playwright’s insertion of social commentary that dilutes the story and creates confusion. Without it, the production rides a much better crest of intrigue, suspense, and utter fascination.