Maria – 53Two, Manchester

Writer: Simon Stephens

Director: Sadie Mears

In an unexpected yet refreshing move for one of the UK’s most decorated and acclaimed dramatists, Simon Stephens’ Maria is staged at Manchester fringe theatre 53Two – an unassuming 150-capacity theatre nestled under the arches behind Deansgate. Directed by Sadie Mears – fresh off the back of an Assistant Director tenure at the Royal Exchange – it’s a thoughtful, fitting setting for this production, which studies life in a post-industrial society, navigating isolation and seeking love in an age where the world is at the click of a button, connection with anyone in the world is so easy, and yet, for many, they’ve never felt more alone.

The eponymous Maria (Stacey Harcourt) is a pregnant 18-year-old, facing imminent motherhood and enduring teenage pregnancy in a life where she’s been all but abandoned by those closest to her. Alongside being subjected to crass catcalling by the dock workers she passes every day as she travels to her flat, she clings to a grandmother who is dismissive and aloof and yearns for closeness from a father who seems irritated when she interrupts his 10-minute smoking break from his shift at Asda. Her brother, who skipped the country shortly after the suspected suicide of her mother, is willing to give her little more than a session on the PlayStation before once again fleeing the crumbling remnants of the town he once called home.

Maria’s neglect and isolation are made all the more heart-breaking by her relentless pursuit to broaden her worldview – devoting herself to watching one documentary a day because “it’s better than scrolling Facebook”. She desperately seeks someone to share her discoveries and knowledge with, only to be shut down, laughed at or ignored. Even more devastating is the moment she decides to “just watch a documentary” instead of having someone in the delivery room with her because everyone – including her local vicar  – has refused her request. The one person who reaches out to her – played with extraordinary and heart-breaking tenderness by Callum Burbidge – she pushes away. It’s pertinent that her favourite place to sit is the dock of the once-thriving Northern port that she calls her hometown, marvelling at the movement of goods travelling around the world, coming in and out but never staying still – a contrast to the world that she has found herself stuck in.

Stephens’ words are a poignant and pertinent insight into a world where a vibrant soul can be swallowed up and lost even when they fight so hard to thrive. Unfortunately, the production falters and loses its way in its second half. During Maria’s labour scene, the theatrical style shifts as the cast start singing excerpts from New Order’s ‘Ceremony’, which becomes a thematic refrain for the rest of the piece. Maria’s work as a ‘cam-girl’ is portrayed in an abstracted form, with four actors standing behind mics and portraying different ‘clients’ from around the world. While the jarring shift is perhaps indicative of the anonymous and impersonal nature of online interaction, it is far too protracted, swallowing up maybe half an hour of a 90-minute show.

There are frequent flashes of genuinely moving and thought-provoking content in Maria, but they are too often lost beneath an execution that feels uncertain and overworked.

Runs until 11 September 2026