Character Analysis
Mickey Johnstone
Mickey is Russell’s most powerful vehicle for his political argument. He begins as an energetic, funny, streetwise child — full of life despite his poverty. Russell makes him immediately likeable: his language is vivid (“Gis a sweet”), his games are physical and joyful, and his loyalty is fierce. The audience roots for Mickey from the start, which makes his decline all the more devastating.
As an adolescent, Mickey becomes self-conscious and awkward. His duet with Edward, “That Guy” — a sung wish to be confident, smooth, able to talk to Linda — reveals his growing insecurity. Russell uses this to show that class affects not just material wealth but psychological well-being. Mickey compares himself to an idealised version of masculinity he cannot achieve because his circumstances deny him opportunity.
Mickey’s character arc traces the destruction of working-class potential: energetic child → awkward teenager → factory worker → unemployed → criminal → prisoner → medicated, broken adult. Each stage is caused by class, not personal failure. His final line — “I could have been him” — is Russell’s thesis.
Eddie Lyons
Eddie is well-meaning, generous, and genuinely kind. He shares his sweets with Mickey, is fascinated by working-class life, and never deliberately uses his privilege against anyone. Russell does not present Eddie as a villain — he is a product of his class just as Mickey is a product of his. Eddie’s tragedy is that he benefits from a system he did not choose and cannot control.
However, Eddie’s kindness has a patronising edge that Russell subtly exposes. When Eddie helps Mickey find a job and later provides Linda with housing, he does so from a position of power. His generosity is possible only because of his class privilege. Russell asks the audience to consider whether kindness from a position of power can ever truly be equal.
Mrs Johnstone is the emotional heart of the play. Despite crippling poverty, abandonment by her husband, and the impossible choice forced on her by Mrs Lyons, she remains warm, loving, and resilient. Russell uses her songs to reveal her inner life: she dreams of Marilyn Monroe glamour, hopes for a better future, and loves her children fiercely. Her resilience is presented as a working-class virtue — she endures what would break someone with fewer inner resources.
Crucially, Mrs Johnstone is not idealised. She makes a terrible decision in giving away her child, she is superstitious and easily manipulated, and she keeps the secret for decades despite its damage. Russell presents her as a fully human character whose flaws are products of her circumstances, not her nature.
Mrs Lyons
Mrs Lyons begins as a sympathetic character — a wealthy but lonely woman desperate for a child. However, Russell gradually reveals her as manipulative, possessive, and ultimately violent. She fabricates the superstition, exploits her power over Mrs Johnstone, and eventually tries to stab Mrs Johnstone with a kitchen knife. Russell uses her deterioration to argue that wealth does not bring happiness or stability — it brings a different kind of damage.
Mrs Lyons’ paranoia increases throughout the play. She is terrified that Eddie will discover the truth, that Mrs Johnstone will tell, that the superstition will come true. Russell contrasts her anxiety with Mrs Johnstone’s acceptance and warmth. Money cannot buy peace of mind — in fact, it fuels Mrs Lyons’ obsessive need for control.
Russell presents Mrs Lyons as a mirror of Mrs Johnstone: both are mothers, both are flawed, but their class positions produce opposite responses. Mrs Johnstone’s poverty creates resilience and warmth; Mrs Lyons’ wealth creates paranoia and violence. Russell uses this contrast to argue that the class system damages everyone — not just the poor.
Linda
Linda is introduced as a bold, fearless child who plays as hard as the boys — she is the only one of the three to hit the target in the park — and speaks her mind. Russell presents her as the strongest character in childhood — she defends Mickey, challenges authority, and refuses to be limited by gender expectations. However, as an adult, Linda is ground down by the same forces that destroy Mickey: poverty, unemployment, and hopelessness.
Linda’s turn to Eddie is not betrayal — it is survival. Mickey is unemployed, medicated, and emotionally absent. Linda has a child to care for and no resources. Eddie can offer what Mickey cannot. Russell uses Linda to show that class inequality corrupts even the most genuine relationships: love is not enough when poverty makes daily life impossible.
The chorus-like Narrator stands outside the action, observing and commenting. He creates tension with warnings (“the devil’s got your number”), reminds the audience of the tragic outcome, and asks the final question about superstition versus class. His ambiguity is deliberate: he could represent fate, society, guilt, or Russell himself.
The Narrator is the only character who sees the full picture. He knows the twins are brothers, he sees the class divide operating, and he watches the tragedy unfold without intervening. Russell may be suggesting that society itself is like the Narrator — it sees the injustice but does nothing to stop it.