JAMES Leach's domestic drama is told in reverse chronological order, a trick that can easily irritate if you don't pull it off properly. Fortunately, his script is well-served here by Adam Quayle's precise direction and a couple of fine performances from well-liked local actors Roberta Kerr and Josh Moran as erstwhile husband and wife Colin and Helen.
The path that has led the pair of them to this point is then retraced, with an acute ear for the apparently throwaway phrase that can resonate through lives.
The play opens on a rainy night in Manchester, as Colin returns home after a prison stint (something of a recurring theme at this year's 24:7), apparently anxious to face up to his past and perhaps even hopeful of patching up his tattered relationship with wife Helen. She, however, seem to have other plans which don't necessarily include Colin, let alone the fish supper he has brought with him.
The path that has led the pair of them to this point is then retraced, with an acute ear for the apparently throwaway phrase that can resonate through lives.
Roberta and Josh are both highly accomplished actors, as anyone who saw Roberta in True, one of the hits of last year's 24:7, or Josh in Pub at the Royal Exchange, for instance, will be well aware. They bring a sad authority here to a play that, like so many others in 24:7, fully deserves to be seen by a wider audience.
My Arms is at Three Minute Theatre, Afflecks, Oldham Road, City centre. The 24:7 Theatre Festival runs from 20 - 27 July. More than 70 performances will take place over eight Festival days in New Century House – head office of The Co-operative – and Three Minute Theatre, in Affleck’s Palace. Find more information, show times and how to book tickets (£8 / £6) at: www.247theatrefestival.co.uk
My Arms
