If you are an aficionado of chamber theatre and minimalist dialogue, this is the event for you. In a space that feels like someone’s den, on the third floor of a building on St. Laurent Boulevard that used to house the Playwrights workshop, Free Standing Productions has created a little theatrical gem.

Johanna Nutter and Paula Costain deftly play the two slightly bizarre sisters. They exchange dialogue and hand off power and dominance in smooth and pitch perfect performances. Nutter’s Isobel is utterly believable as the debilitated suicidal sibling. Paula is mesmerizing as her lively alter ego who is strangely disturbed and thrilled by the drifting, drifting snow.

It was a delight to watch two such professional actors wind their way through the dialogue and bring the play to its inevitable conclusion. There were some drawbacks to the use of such a space. The bathroom we were informed was hors service during the show and three flights of stairs make it clear that the target audience is limber and young.

There was a kind of novelty in sitting so close to the action, and at one point I did worry that Paula Costain would spill some of her martini on the person sitting next to me. The chamber nature of the performance made the direction particularly challenging and Tanner Harvey used several quite inventive moves and devices to keep it interesting and believable.

The strength of this piece is in the remarkable performances, but I am afraid I must say that these actors could have made a phone book delightful. The writing of the piece was too precious, and worked hard at the repetitions and patterns used by other well known dramatists. In Ned Cox’s Duplicity Girls, it was hit or miss, and needed some serious dramaturgy to keep from circling back at itself.

I confess the angst and despair of two upper middle class sisters does not intrigue me, and there were moments when the young man across the street cooking in front of an unshaded window distracted me from the action that was unfolding quite literally under my nose.

However, the experience is worth the climb up the steep staircase and the acting and directing were good enough to make this a truly interesting piece of theatre.

Duplicity Girls runs at through November 1 at The Freestanding Room, 4324 blvd. St-Laurent, Thursdays through Sundays, 8 pm. Only 30 seats per show so book early. Box Office: Call to reserve, then pay cash at the door. (514) 759-4671