Tuesday evening Pawn returned once again to The Hope Theatre for some light drama. This evening’s fare was a pair of monologues, produced by Ragged Foils, as an offshoot of their Ragged Scratch Podcast series. In this performance we have first Katy Maw delivering Jam Tart, by Rhiannon Owens, directed by Natalie Winter.

Clare (Maw) is a fifty-something wife and mother of two who has always found herself agreeing with others, and doing as they have, and finds herself now, feeling old and used up, and unrealized. On a whim, she tells us, she left home in her sleepy village and spent the night in a travel-lodge, all of 200 metres from home. But the next day, feeling a boldness new to her, she takes a bus to the other end of town and sets up life anew. No husband, no kids (they’re both grown now, no abandonment), and no job.

She starts fresh, and finds a way to break free from always doing as others do, or as others expect. Along the way she rekindles a relationship with her older brother, an adult relationship, which is totally fresh to her.

All of that in about 40 minutes, no action, no blocking, no props (aside from a water bottle). Maw simply sits in a chair facing us, and tells us her story. And does so brilliantly.

Cathy (Mary Tillet), a woman of a certain age, sits down in her bath robe and starts to tell us about her perspectives on life. Or she tries to, in this story by Nick Maynard. She keeps getting diverted down story telling side streets, ranging into precincts as yet unmapped. But she does, finally, return to purpose, telling us her thoughts on the treatment of immigrants and suffering. She talks about her life, and desires to travel; her late husband and their kids are mentioned, but more in passing and to provide a frame.

I shan’t delve too far into her story, as it is lovely and deserves to be heard as new. While neither of these stories is yet available as a podcast on Ragged Scratch, I’d expect they’ll show up there in time. Keep your eye (or ears) on this site as they’ve certainly got a good thing going!