Tears in the Fabric

This chapter focusses its attention on the associated crimes of child-abuse and child-murder. Crimes which, as a consequence of the public interest they stimulate, must be comprehended within an often febrile cultural context. The chapter looks at a number of modern plays which address these crimes, including various contributions to the ‘in-yer-face’ genre. Its closer focus, however, is on on Bryony Lavery’s Frozen, a play which can be more squarely categorised as ‘realist’. In so doing, the chapter further considers the merits and demerits of strategies of ‘restorative’ justice. It is argued that the rooting of restorative justice, in associated ideas of compassion and empathy, makes it a peculiarly literate jurisprudence.