There is an alarming sense of cogs being wound in this prison drama by Ed Edwards. It is set in a fancy new Manchester nick where conditions are uncommonly good: a 25-day riot in the notoriously crowded Strangeways has fast-tracked the introduction of a softly-softly regime. There is one man to a cell, so tensions should be minimised, and only troublemakers are subject to frequent searches. Yet every time Edwards introduces a new inmate, he takes us one step closer to catastrophe.
It is like a laboratory experiment in which a mad scientist adds unstable chemicals to a test tube and turns on the Bunsen burner. The steadiest element is Frankie Donnelly, a recovering addict who is in for three-and-a-half years for importing drugs disguised as bars of chocolate. On his side is an even temper, a typewriter and a history of political activism; beyond that, he is at the mercy of his fellow inmates.
