REVIEW: SUS at Park Theatre 90

Sus has technically been consigned to the history books, but was once synonymous with racial tensions between the police and local communities. It was eventually repealed by the Criminal Attempts Act 1981. Sus (derived from 'Suspect Under Suspicion') was the law that permitted a police officer to stop, search and potentially arrest a person in breach of the Vagrancy Act 1824. Despite its repeal, there are modern echoes in the stop and search provisions of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. A touch of legalese is important to understand why this 1979 play by Barrie Keeffe is still important and relevant today.

Its election night: 3rd May 1979 and Margaret Thatcher is on the threshold of a landslide victory. The police station is in a state of frenzy as DS Karn (Alexander Neal) contemplates a new social landscape. His eager junior officer DC Wilby (Fergal Coghlan) is excitedly relaying updates via the staff canteen. However, they have the distraction of a suspicious death on their patch. Karn and Wilby have made their minds up and pull in luckless underdog Delroy (Stedroy Cabey) for questioning. It's not the first time he's been detained by the police and is unfazed by this latest 'collar'. However, devastating news turns this game of cat and mouse into something more sinister.

REVIEW: Monster at Park Theatre 90

Our lives should be dictated by choice, but fate inevitably takes a hand and creates a chain of events beyond our control. If we're lucky our parents will teach us right from wrong and provide a design for life. But sometimes a parent can be a catalyst for the badness that lurks deep within. Monster is a disturbing tale that is sadly never far away from the headline writer's keyboard. Author and co-star Abigail Hood has delivered an impressive piece with strong characters and sharp dialogue that maintains quality throughout.

Glasgow in the mid-noughties sees wild child Kayleigh Grey (Abigail Hood) playing in a wasteland strewn with tyres and rubble. Best friend Zoe Douglas (Caitlin Fielding) has crept out of school to look for the daring and wilful Kayleigh. Zoe is attracted by her friend's taste for anarchy. Kayleigh has been expelled from two schools and kept local police occupied with her misdemeanours. Teacher Rebecca Hastie (Emma Keele) is concerned for her charges but is heavily pregnant and her husband Steve (Kevin Wathen) stresses for her well-being. Kayleigh is goaded by abusive, Bible-quoting mother Hazel (Gillian Kirkpatrick) who has a nifty line in hypocrisy. A revelation causes Kayleigh to take action that will have far-reaching consequences for all concerned. The story moves forward fourteen years and Kayleigh is about to start a new life with her fiancé John (Kevin Tomlinson). But will the past affect their future happiness?

REVIEW: 9 Circles at Park Theatre 90

We assume that wars are fought to protect a civilised and peaceful existence; unfettered by those who seek to destroy the lives we choose to live; but what about the men and women who are trained to achieve this objective. Do they understand who and what they are fighting for? Do they obey the command of their masters and assume morality is on their side? But are they simply state-trained killers indoctrinated by the preferred narrative. What really is the effect on soldiers who are programmed to kill the enemy? This intriguing play by Bill Cain explores these themes in forensic detail and delivers more than a hint of inconvenient truth.

The story begins in Iraq as soldier Daniel E. Reeves (Joshua Collins) is about to receive an honourable discharge. He verbally spars with his Lieutenant (Daniel Bowerbank) at the real meaning and both settle on a personality disorder. He later wakes up in a cell back in the US. The Public Defender (Samara Neely-Cohen) informs him of charges relating to his conduct in Iraq. Reeves falls deep into a mind fog as he tries to make sense of what has happened. The Defence Attorney (David Calvitto) is convinced he can get an acquittal if only he plays ball.

REVIEW: The 4th Country at Park Theatre

Any story told against the backdrop of Northern Ireland has an in-built drama; as the region lives with the past and ludicrous understatement known as The Troubles, it also deals with the present fallout replete with its social, economic and political consequences. This play written by Kate Reid comes direct from a successful run at the Vault Festival in 2020. The Plain Heroines Theatre Company specialise in funny plays about difficult subjects and has certainly hit the mark here. Playing upstairs at the always sleek and inviting Park Theatre, it has an intimate space perfectly suited to the subject matter.

The story begins within the confines of Stormont as Shona (Aoife Kennan) a stressed civil servant in the Department for Health begins another long day. The power vacuum in Northern Ireland has left them in charge of fighting various fires. Melanie (Kate Reid) is already in the office, eager to start her internship. A baptism of fire lies in wait as calls become increasingly frantic and Melanie is confronted with a familiar face from her native Derry. The bad stuff is about to hit the fan when Conor (Cormac Elliott) bursts in. He slips out of character and begs them to explore the back story. His sister Niamh (Rachael Rooney) emerges from the wings and supports his argument. The cast agrees and duly skip back five months as their characters are fleshed out.