Marion Allen’s Number One Hobby

Housewife Marion’s hobby of the title is entering competitions. As Bea Roberts’ beautiful – and, at just 35 minutes, beautifully short – monologue opens, Marion proudly lists the many prizes she’s won; amongst them, a holiday in Torbay and a year’s supply of Crunchie bars.

But careful what you wish for: you can soon lose a taste for chocolate and a year’s supply takes up a lot of space in a box room. As the piece develops and we learn more about Marion and her good-humoured husband of 24 years, Dave, the maxim that “you win some, you lose some” strikes home with force.

Genevieve Swallow is simply wonderful as Marion. I don’t mind admitting that I shed a tear in the final scene when she meets the teenage girl imprisoned for the drunk driving that killed Dave. You leave inspired by Marion’s resilience and immense capacity for forgiveness – in the form of a Crunchie bar.