Iron | HOME Manchester

Iron, which is written by Rona Munro, is an intense psychological thriller set within a prison environment. The play follows Fay, a woman who has been serving a prison sentence for the past 15 years for the murder of her then-husband. We meet her daughter, Josie, who has avoided contact with Fay throughout her mother’s imprisonment, but has returned in search of answers about what happened on the evening the crime took place.

From an audience perspective, the storytelling is compelling, as we are aligned with Josie in piecing together the fragments of the narrative through their countless prison meetings. We discover the facts in real time alongside Josie, gradually uncovering what happened on the evening of the crime.

The production incorporates immersive elements through its storytelling, but one of its particular strengths is the atmosphere established before the performance has even begun. Audiences enter a dimly lit auditorium in HOME’s Theatre 2, accompanied by sound bites from inside a prison playing in the background. From the outset, the audience is drawn into the tense atmosphere of the production, immediately placed on edge in anticipation of the “thriller” that is about to unfold.

Fay and Josie are played by real-life mother-and-daughter duo Christine and Lois Mackie, which makes the connection between them feel particularly authentic and natural, drawing us further into the emotional heart of the production. Despite their biological connection, however, the two characters could not be more different in temperament and personality.

Christine embodies the true grit of Fay, who is angry at the system in which she has been placed and struggles to come to terms with her actions. By contrast, we first encounter Lois' Josie as a character full of naivety and innocence. In the opening scene, Josie arrives at the prison with a fruit basket, wishing to see her mother after 15 years apart, yet is completely oblivious to the rules and regulations she must navigate in order to make contact with her. Although Lois immediately establishes Josie’s naivety, she also demonstrates that she is a strong, confident and work-oriented woman - the complete opposite of her counterpart. Lois performs the role with authenticity, allowing us to gain a genuine sense of Josie’s yearning for the relationship she has lost with her mother, as well as her desire to recover the memories of her childhood.

Christine must be commended for her portrayal of Fay throughout the production. We witness her character move from manipulative behaviour to acts of desperation before ultimately being reduced to tears. Christine’s frantic physicality throughout the piece can be difficult to watch, as the audience is encouraged to sympathise with Fay. Christine makes particularly effective use of her facial expressions, especially her eyes, to communicate Fay’s skittish nature and her desperate search for an end to the life she is living, with references to previous suicide attempts being hinted at throughout. Christine creates a deeply believable character through Fay, making this one of the strongest elements of the production’s direction.

Iron features two supporting actors, Jamie Smelt and Ellaney Hayden, who play George and Sheila, the officers at the prison. Smelt establishes a commanding presence as George as he enters the stage moments before the performance begins, immediately making the audience feel inclined to be on their best behaviour as we are simultaneously introduced to the prison environment.

Both performers are captivating throughout the play, although they are not utilised to their fullest potential. Their presence nevertheless acts as a constant reminder of the surveillance under which Fay exists, reinforcing the fact that she is not entitled to any privacy within her conditions. There are brief moments throughout the production in which George and Sheila begin to discuss their families; however, these conversations are cut short to allow greater focus on Fay and Josie’s storyline. This represents a missed opportunity, as without a greater understanding of their individual stories, we are unable to form a meaningful connection with them as an audience, leaving their purpose within the narrative somewhat confusing.

The relationship between Fay and Sheila is another particularly strong element of the production, especially in the way its fragmented nature is presented; however, this relationship could have been developed further to create a stronger emotional effect on the audience.

The quality of acting throughout the piece is sublime. However, the play’s almost three-hour running time is difficult to justify, as the production appears to reach an unclear conclusion and leaves a considerable degree of ambiguity towards the end. Certain prison scenes feel as though they continue for too long without establishing a clear dramatic purpose, at times creating the impression that we have been invited into a private conversation that does not ultimately advance the plot.

Despite these shortcomings, the writing through the play is strong and there are still many compelling elements attributed to Iron that make the production worth a visit.

Iron plays at the HOME Manchester until 19th September - tickets and more information can be found here.

★★★☆☆ (3*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Shay Rowan