"This is a play about real life and humanity," says Harry Atkinson, who plays Victor Quinn - a wronged husband and internet tycoon - in David Hare's searing drama.

"All the characters are flawed and damaged and no one's life is fulfilled. But there is, nevertheless, love."

Hare's three-hander about love, betrayal and alcohol addiction, which has played in the West End and Broadway, is set against the backdrop of the dot-com boom of the 1990s.

Paul Peplow is a writer and a recovering alcoholic who goes to work for a rich internet entrepreneur, Victor Quinn.

Victor's young wife, Elsa, also a recovering alcoholic, embarks on a mutually destructive affair with Paul.

"Paul is not a villain," explains Atkinson. "He's just as much a victim as the other two.

"Victor rescued Elsa from herself when she was rock bottom," he continues. "And though she loves him, she resents him too because she owes him so much."

There are no fulfilled people and no fulfilled relationships in Hare's play, yet Atkinson feels there is still room for optimism within it.

"Elsa's affair with Paul reaffirms her love for Victor," he says. "It leaves them broken and damaged but still together.

"Hare certainly doesn't present anything with rose-tinted glasses but there is love. Although this is in itself flawed, we can perhaps conclude that it is all we have to hang on to."

Atkinson reveals the challenges of the play which combines deep pathos and Hare's trademark cerebral wit.

"It's so carefully crafted, you can't afford to mess up a single line," he says. "The play uses long passages of naturalistic dialogue interspersed with poetic passages that highlight the play's powerful themes of drug addiction, love and loneliness."

It's worlds away from the Brighton Little Theatre's last offering, Barefoot In The Park by Neil Simon.

"We like to present as varied a programme as possible," explains Atkinson. "Both to keep audiences guessing and to present fresh challenges to the actors and directors.

The company's next offering, Moira Buffini's Dinner, will be showing from Tuesday, May 6 to Saturday, May 10, as part of the Brighton Festival.

  • 7.45pm, £7.50, 01273 777748