The writer of Stoning Mary, Debbie Tucker Green, stipulates clearly that the cast should all be white, and the play should be set in the country in which it is being performed.
So the all-white cast delivers her punchy lines in cockney dialect and Estuary English.
Her love of lyrics and music is apparent as the play sounds like a rhythmic piece of poetic rap with circuitous repetitions and cadences. The set is framed like a boxing ring: the audience sits on three sides, just inches from the performers who are already "on stage" when we enter.
The designer Ultz wanted to present an open space that looked like trampled dirt, but by making the floor space a beautiful turquoise blue it is an unrealistic space
neither England nor Africa.
Surrounding the space with stones acts as a constant reminder of the final death by stoning of the title. Three stories run simultaneously and are linked by the presence of a machete-brandishing boy soldier. A child in combat gear with a shaven head, he says very little but is extremely threatening. Impressive Cast Although the cast might not exactly be household names, their faces are very familiar from film and TV.  | | The play is thought-provoking |
They all give brilliant performances with dialogue that has to be delivered with such precise timing. They have to inject the script with realism yet exaggerate the threat and violence implicit in normal human things as they all struggle for survival. Having such a capable and versatile cast is crucial to the success of this piece of modern writing. Visiting her sister in prison before she is executed by stoning, "older sister" - the utterly brilliant Claire Rushbrook - bristles with accusations and hostility.
She lashes out at Marys (Claire Louise Cordwell) appearance and the fact that she has given up smoking!
The sisters speak to each other with much longer phrasing than the other players, and Mary gets to recite her long "list of bitches" who have not come to her rescue. Surprising Ending The play ends abruptly and with a surprising downpour of rain as Mary prepares for her execution.
In the tense final moments, her hair is brutally chopped off by the "corrections officer", while the mother of the murdered "boy soldier" walks towards her, brandishing a stone from the perimeter of the set. Stoning Mary is an extremely unusual and powerful piece of theatre, which should give rise to long and heated discussion, especially for the many young drama students that made up the audience.
Running at just an hour long I would like to see it again before the end of its run.
This is another nourishing helping of what The Drum does best and I really hope there will be many future collaborations with the Royal Court.
| DATE: | Fri 29th April - Sat 14th May 2005 | | EVENT: | Stoning Mary | | VENUE: | Drum Theatre, Plymouth | | TIME: | 7.45pm | | TICKETS: | £10 (concessions available) | | BOX OFFICE: | 01752 267222 |
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Great set and Mary was so out there that I felt kind of sorry for her" – Lauren and Vicky from Eggbuckland community college (drama students) 
