This Wide Night @ Tron Theatre

Directed by David Greig, Chloë Moss' This Wide Night zooms in on the lives of two women who seemingly have nothing in common, except the fact that they shared a cell in prison about twelve years before the play is set.

At times moving, and at times quite funny, This Wide Night observes the pair over a period of a few days, just after Lorraine (Elaine C. Smith) is released from prison. Marie (Jayd Johnson) is afraid of the sharp knocking at the door, while Lorraine has to come face to face with Ben, her son aged thirty-one, who doesn’t really want to see her anymore. They only have each other, although Marie tries to make excuses to get rid of Lorraine, as she obviously isn’t comfortable around her.

Johnson and Smith seem to work well together as a duo, while keeping the dynamics of the rocky relationship throughout. Greig’s direction and the acting reveal the dependency between the two women that is thrown back and forth in a seemingly vicious cycle. Almost like a Greek tragedy, no violence is shown on stage, aside from the two women's outbursts of anger.

Finally, the play tries to give an insight into the psyche and interactions these two women have with each other and the rest of society, but the references to Marie's childhood seem to suggest her criminal activities could be traced back to then, as if it is genetic, or inherent in her upbringing. Meanwhile, the open ending seems slightly abrupt, and doesn’t appear to resolve any questions about the situation. Nonetheless, the play does poke at the consciousness and successfully asks questions about the way we treat people, especially those who are marginalised because of previous incarceration.