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Director Alice Fox Lundy’s site-specific production of Little One is far too polished and complete for the Fringe. If it weren’t nearly impossible to produce independent theatre outside of the context of Fringe these days, I would insist that it ought to get a full run somewhere like Leroy Street Productions’ usual home The Assembly Theatre, or even a bigger house.

Hannah Moscovitch’s unflinching script is one of her best- a perfectly structured genre piece as atmospheric as it is brutally unadorned. It’s extreme but grounded, feeling at once terrifying and terrifyingly possible in its depiction of trauma-afflicted foster children trying to love and be loved.

Wayne Burns once again proves his versatility, embodying the play’s steady narrator with practiced calm and purposeful beige-ness. His Aaron clearly communicates but dutifully underplays his own complicated story and the brutal pressures that come with being the one who’s ok. Izzi Nagel contrasts him brilliantly with a wild but never exaggerated turn as the troubled Claire. Squirrelly and hyper-physical, Nagel’s every outburst feels at once earned and dangerously unpredictable. It’s a thrilling performance in an impossible role, ushered with a deft hand by the capable Lundy who is quickly becoming one of indie Toronto’s buzziest directors.

The small space, which I believe is, for a tonal twist, usually a puppy yoga studio, only seats like 40 audience members so tickets are scarce but, if there are any left (or when the second run is inevitably announced), make sure you go.