Review: MANAGED APPROACH, Riverside Studios

First seen at last year's Edinburgh fringe, Jules Coyle's semi-verbatim play, Managed Approach, now comes to Riverside Studios for a short, but important run. Between 2014 and 2020, a local government initiative in Holbeck, Leeds allowed sex workers to operate under certain regulations and was known as the Managed Approach. The play explores the experiences of both sex workers and residents whose lives are impacted by the scheme in a number of surprising and sometimes shocking ways.

Coyle's play is brimming with potential, exploring problematic subjects with a sensitive touch and without moral judgement. Making use of verbatim testimony from sex workers and residents of the area shows the impossible balance between giving sex workers necessary protection without creating an impact on the comfort and safety of the local community.

We meet 18-year-old Abbie in her chaotic bedroom that resembles Tracey Emin's My Bed. She is getting ready for a night out, stuffing tissues down her bra and dancing to Beyoncé, but it's clear her mother Kate disapproves of both her outfit and her attitude. Their relationship is lovingly fractious, but comes under stress when Abbie becomes personally conflicted after Kate turns to online campaigning against the Managed Approach.

The cast of four is strong. Writer Coyle plays Abbie, evoking youthful petulance and recklessness in a very believable way. Eanna Ferguson plays her often exasperated mother Kate with kindness and constant anxiety for her daughter's safety.

Áine McNamara and H Sneyd play sex workers Dani, Tara, Ellen and Sarah, giving an important human face and voice to these women. They enter and sit on a chair with a microphone to relate their quiet stories of violence, drug abuse, family fractures, but also how the 'Approach' does not stop dangerous men, despite providing them with more safety to operate.

Through this we gain some insight into the stark realities of sex work and how the women involved really feel about their activities, but also how the system has brought danger and exposure to sex work to all residents in the area. There are reports of men propositioning girls on their way to school and sexual activity taking place in public places in front of children.

The crimes of the Yorkshire Ripper still cast a long shadow in this area of the country; sex workers were Peter Sutcliffe's primary (but not only) targets, making every man a suspect and many women marched to reclaim the streets from a febrile atmosphere of fear. Even today, Leeds University does not allow female students to occupy the ground floor rooms of university accomodation. This element of regional history is fascinating and Coyle demonstrates the impact historical crimes can have on current society.

Where the play stumbles is that it tries to cram too many issues into a short 75-minute running time. Social history, family dynamics, behaviour on social media, sex work on residential streets and the balance between women's safety and women's freedom are all touched upon, but some areas suffer from a lack of exploration. Although necessary for context, a little too much time is spent on Kate imitating her own mother and recalling her own teenage years when more exploration could have been given to the sex workers themselves.

As long as men seek out women they can pay for sex, the world's oldest profession will continue, whether it is in plain sight or not. But how women can be kept safe remains the essential question whatever your views on the subject. Managed Approach gives an important and necessary voice to two sides of a issue that will arguably never be resolved. I look forward to seeing it honed even further.

Managed Approach is at Riverside Studios until 25 April