Pawn – 24:7 Theatre Festival, Manchester

Writer: Brian Marchbank

Director: Dennis Keighron-Foster

Reviewer: Malcolm Wallace

The Public Reviews Rating:

Presented as part of Manchester’s 24/7 Theatre festival Pawn and written by Brian Marchbank, Pawn is set in a Pawn shop run by timid Emma (aka Mouse) played by Annamarie Bayley. As she deals with difficult customers, a particularly rude and heavily pregnant Mel (Fiona Carmouch) and stressed out Sam (Matthew Stead), a pair of armed robbers storm the building and a hostage situation ensues. No surprises in guessing that all the characters are linked in one way or another, but the manner in which they are linked is surprising and nicely dealt with. The piece is narrated, in a way, by John McElhatton as Cassidy, the Policeman assigned to deal with the situation.

Much of the comedy is provided by Stead, Carmouch and Bayley with Bayley’s characterisation of Emma being particularly amusing and, towards the end, strong. Carmouch is also to be commended on her comedy skills and she has a very animated face.

The piece unravels into some confusion, however, with the arrival of the armed robbers Bernie (Christine Clare) and Simon (Hugh Draycott). It feels as if these two characters have been lifted out of another play entirely and plonked down uncomfortably amongst the outrageous characters in the pawn shop. The motivation for their actions is not dealt with effectively and from the little we learn of their differing social backgrounds the more unlikely their relationship seems. Furthermore neither actor can match the talents of the other three on the stage. Draycott is wooden, whilst Clare probably couldn’t overact more if she tried.

Director Dennis Keighron-Foster does a good job with an uneven play but is unable to maximise its potential.

Described as a black comedy Pawn is a frustrating play to watch. On the one hand there are some clever one liners and superbly eccentric characters, but on the other there are elements that are taken far too seriously. It just needs to lighten up a little!