Christine Mackie stars alongside daughter in IRON at Hull Truck Theatre

Real life mother and daughter – Coronation Street’s Christine Mackie and Lois Mackie play on-stage mother and daughter in Rona Munro’s award-winning prison drama Christine Mackie IRON.

Fay is serving a life sentence for murdering her husband with a kitchen knife. She is 15 years into her sentence when her daughter Josie visits for the first time. Josie, raised by her paternal grandmother and with no memory of her father or the crime, seeks answers about her past.

Through a series of prison visits, the two women attempt to reconnect; Fay is emotionally hardened by years of incarceration, while Josie is determined to uncover the reality of her childhood and the murder of her father. In this gripping and psychological drama, written by acclaimed Scottish playwright Rona Munro, mother and daughter try to break through the barriers of time, memory and the punishment that separates them both literally and metaphorically.

First performed at The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in 2002, IRON then transferred to a sell out run at The Royal Court in London – for which it received critical acclaim and won the John Whiting Award. In this new staging of the play by Best Girl Productions, this will be the first time the roles of Fay and Josie are being played by a real-life mother and daughter – who are also playing alongside each other on stage for the very first time.

Christine Mackie will play the role of Fay while her daughter and Manchester based actress Lois Mackie will play alongside her as Josie. Christine is perhaps best known for her regular roles as Dr Gaddas in ITV’s Coronation Street and as Daphne Bryant in Downton Abbey; whilst screen and stage actress Lois can be seen in the recently released feature film Finding Emily.

Playing the pivotal and supporting roles as the prison guards are Jamie Smelt (Northern Broadsides/Red Ladder/Brassic) and Ellaney Hayden (The Lowry/MIF/Casualty).

This production of IRON will be directed by Sam Holland-Bunyan (Royal Exchange/Etcetera Theatre) and recipient of the Peter Cheeseman Award 2024 for Exceptional Development and Outstanding Achievement.

Christine Mackie comments: “IRON is so beautifully written and although it seems straightforward on the surface, it has hidden depths and all four characters, contained within the confines of the prison, have no choice but to confront the truth. I’m very excited about the show, the whole creative team is so talented and it’s a real privilege to work with my daughter Lois on stage for the very first time.

Lois Mackie comments: “It has always been on my bucket list to act opposite my brilliant mother, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that it will be on such a juicy bit of theatre as IRON. With the addition of such a talented cast and creative team, I think we’re going to make something special. Rona Munro’s characters are so complex, and they complement each other throughout the twists and turns of this story. It’s an emotional rollercoaster and I can’t wait to share it with you all!”

Best Girl Productions is committed to producing high quality theatre and to promoting kindness and creativity. BGP founded in 2019 to take Christine’s first play BEST GIRL performed by her daughter Lois to the Edinburgh Festival where it received 4* reviews and had sell-out shows, it then toured venues in the North West until Covid changed the plan. Christine’s next play KIN was ACE funded in 2022 and was remounted for a successful North West Tour in 2024 to venues including The Dukes, Hull Truck, Theatr Clwyd and HOME Mcr, where it was the fastest selling show of their season.

IRON plays at Hull Truck Theatre Wed 23 September – Thu 24 September. Tickets are available here.