Conviction, a new play by Alex Franklin, follows the daily working life of prison warden Adam (George Solomou) as he interacts with the eclectic mix of prisoners under his watch. At first he finds the relationships tedious, but he becomes increasingly fond of the inmates; despite them not being ‘good’ people, he becomes friends with some. This forces Adam to interrogate himself and his own life choices, leaving him unsure who deserves his help, and whether he should give it. Moreover, he has to work out what to do with his own stagnant life.

Franklin’s darkly comic play succeeds in its snapshot glimpses into the conversations of Adam and the prisoners, even if it misses the mark in its overarching plot. Each scene, each prisoner, is well-developed and complicated yet infused with humour, but overall it is difficult to see what the motivation behind the action is. Adam, although played well by George Solomou, is a little too angry and exhausted for reasons never explicitly explained. The enigma of his personal life is at first intriguing, but we never get the satisfaction of a resolution, because his character is not developed enough to drive the story when there are such strong personalities around him.

The prisoners are highly characterised, each having different mental disorders – ‘Mad’ KJ (Jamie Bisping), for example, is a delightfully variable psychopath. Whether or not Franklin deliberately wrote them in the framework of specific conditions, they present a kaleidoscope of challenged and, as Adam finds out, often challenging people. Even the costumes added to this: it transpires there are several ways of wearing an orange jumpsuit. All performances were brilliant, especially the distinct behaviours of the prisoners, but Freya Ingram as Dember stole the show. It may have been something to do with the sincerity and dependency in her relationship with Adam compared to the other prisoners, or her incessantly stupid but hilarious questions – “do you think gnomes are mammals or amphibians?” – but Ingram’s playful portrayal brought the character to life.

This is a play that is playful in every respect: the script, the performances, the cheerful music between the scenes all kept a dark subject incredibly light. It is an enjoyable watch, with many moments of laughter, made all the more amusing juxtaposed against the violence of the prisoners. The props and set were minimalist but made good use of, particularly the moments with Oakley (Olivia Miller) and the bars. Oakley’s detachment also allowed for moments of social commentary, although unfortunately these were sometimes over-explained within the script, and so became less effective than the more abstract moments of comedy.

On the whole, director Jasmin Rees has brought the best out of Franklin’s script, particularly in a conversation between Adam and Ludo (Eliz Avni), where Ludo’s actions ensure the audience is paying as little attention to Adam as she is. Though some lighting choices seemed unnecessary (each prisoner had a spotlight, but it was rarely made use of), the light change when Remy (Rory Russell) is revealed to be even more suspect in his ‘priesthood’ than first thought is particularly effective, adding to the comedy of Adam’s realisation. Lighting designer Jason Lo was quick on this change, providing a perfectly timed catharsis – though in other cases scene changes could have been quicker. The other technical downfall was the radio communications, which had been recorded, but could have benefitted from actually sounding like they had come from a radio: they were too loud and clear. This is a minor gripe, of course, but it did break the action away from the characters on stage, which was a shame.

Similarly, the ending was frustratingly inconclusive, and some directorial choices here lacked motivation. Of course, it would be unfair to talk about those if you are planning to watch the play – which you should. This is a great production, combining strong performances with a playfully mature script and plenty of laughs, let down slightly by its weak resolution.

Conviction is on at the Corpus Playroom at 9.30pm until 27 January