`The Shadow of a Gunman’: Taking on the work of Irish playwright Sean O’Casey in its second production, the Ulysses Theatre Company acquits itself beautifully. At the center of the story is Donal Davoren, a quoter of Shelley and “gunman on the run” played by Thomas Jones as all stooped shoulders, sharp elbows and nervous laughter. Davoren is hiding out in the tenement room of peddler Seamus Shields (Jason Walton), but his affiliation with the Irish Republicans of the early ’20s is a secret to no one in the house. The swift, sure pacing set by director Kirsten Kelly never flags as a day of visits from neighbor after neighbor builds to a climactic conflict in the dark of night. O’Casey’s equal attention to humor and drama in this work is exemplified by the dual roles of Ron Rains, first as the comically uptight Mr. Gallogher and finally as a thuggish member of the Protestant auxiliary whose raid on the house inspires not only fear and cowardice but a remarkable act of love and courage. Adding a welcome degree of realism to the production are a richly detailed set by Susan Kaip, atmospheric lighting by Charlie Jolls and costumes by Jennifer Bartels. O’Casey may have felt Ireland to be “a hopeless country,” as Shields repeatedly laments, but the strength of its storytellers is undeniable. At Stage Left Theatre, 3408 N. Sheffield Ave., through Feb. 8; 773-549-0963.