Rona Munro's IRON ladies
- Robert Beale
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Scottish playwright Rona Munro's gripping prison drama IRON begins a short North West tour at HOME in Manchester from September 15-19, before visiting Hull Truck (September 23-24), then The Dukes in Lancaster (September 30-October 3).
In the new staging of IRON by Best Girl Productions, the parent-daughter roles of Fay and Josie are played by a genuine mother and daughter, on stage together for the first time.
Mum Fay is 15 years into a life sentence for murdering her husband with a kitchen knife, when her daughter Josie visits for the first time. Josie, raised by her grandmother and with no memory of her father or the crime, seeks answers about her past. Fay is emotionally hardened by years of incarceration, while Josie is determined to uncover the reality of her childhood and the murder of her father.
Christine Mackie will play the role of Fay and her daughter - Manchester-based actress Lois Mackie - will play Josie.
Christine is known for her roles as Dr Gaddas in Coronation Street and Daphne Bryant in Downton Abbey, while Lois can be seen in the recently-released feature film Finding Emily.
In pivotal supporting roles of prison guards are Jamie Smelt and Ellaney Hayden. IRON will be directed by Sam Holland-Bunyan (Royal Exchange/ Etcetera Theatre), recipient of the Peter
Cheeseman Award 2024.
IRON was first performed at the Traverse in Edinburgh in 2002 and transferred to a sell-out run at the Royal Court in London, to great critical acclaim.
Christine Mackie said: “IRON is so beautifully written, and though it seems straightforward on the surface, it has hidden depths; all four characters, contained within the confines of the prison, have no choice but to confront the truth.
“The whole creative team is so talented, and it’s a real privilege to work with my daughter Lois on stage for the first time.”
More info and tickets here