‘Dogs Barking’ a raw portrait of life after love

When love dies, relationships become driven instead by power -- sometimes with devastating results, as we see in “Dogs Barking,” an edgy, confrontational and very promising inaugural production from MetaTheatre Company at West Hollywood’s Third Street Theatre.

Skillful performances mine the scissor-like nuances of manipulation and one-upmanship in Richard Zajdlic’s stark portrait of a British working-class couple locked in brutal conflict over control of their London flat.

Volatile, chain-smoking Neil (Sam Levassar) had left the flat to bitter, sarcastic Alex (Danielle Hoover) when he moved out some months previously. But all bets are off when Neil unexpectedly turns up seeking a night’s shelter, only to discover that Alex has taken up with one of his old chums.

Neil’s far more egregious infidelities don’t even figure in his moral compass as he seizes on the mortgage rights as a weapon to exact punishment. There’s complicity on Alex’s part as well -- she lets Neil spend the night on the couch not out of compassion, but because she wants the flattering satisfaction of hearing him grovel.

Once the door has been opened, Alex and Neil’s well-timed verbal punches inexorably devolve into more disturbing physical conflict, staged with unrestrained intensity by Anthony Paul Meindl. Amplifying the tension in supporting roles are Alison Simpson-Smith as Alex’s sister, whose veneer of support barely masks her sibling competitiveness, and Jason Radeck, Neil’s improbably padded but convincingly self-deprecating overweight toady.

The drama’s more savage elements superficially lend “Dogs Barking” the raw shock appeal of a trendy class of gritty British imports that include Edward Bond’s “Saved” and Mark Ravenhill’s “Shopping and

On the plus side, it lends broader resonance to their descent from a starting point of conventional caring and respect.

The downside is that playwright Zajdlic’s gauzy romanticism (established in opening and closing flashbacks and never completely dissipated) is an awkward fit with hard-hitting realism, especially when the play soft-pedals consequences that could, and probably should, be more dire.

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‘Dogs Barking’

Where: Third Street Theatre, 8140

W. 3rd St., West Hollywood

When: Fridays, Saturdays,

8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m.

Ends: March 2

Price: $15

Contact: (323) 993-7113

Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes