TERROR

 

Written by Ferdinand von Schirach

Directed by Kim Beamish

Lexi Sekuless Productions

Mill Theatre on Dairy Road, Fyshwick to 15 June

 

Reviewed by Len Power 5 June 2024

 

When, on arrival, you’re handed a juror’s badge and, in the lobby, the Presiding Judge explains her expectations of you, first in German and then easing into an English translation, you realize you will have a serious judgement to make in the “courtroom”.

Tracy Noble as the Presiding Judge

A hijacked plane was heading towards a packed football stadium. Ignoring orders to the contrary, a fighter pilot shot down the plane killing 164 people to save 70,000. On trial and charged with murder, the fate of the pilot is in your hands as jury members.

Written in 2015 by German lawyer, writer and playwright, Ferdinand von Schirach, the evidence is presented by the defence and the prosecution, and the defendant is questioned. Various issues arise regarding the legality of his action, his defence force training and the moral decision he had to make under extreme pressure.

The jurors have a difficult decision to make at the end of the trial. Is the fighter pilot guilty or not guilty?

A simple, but effective design by Kathleen Kershaw sees the entire Mill Theatre re-imagined as a cold, almost forbidding, courtroom. The lighting and sound design add considerably to the atmosphere as the trial unfolds.

There is not much opportunity for major character development, but there are good performances from all the cast, especially Tracy Noble as the Presiding Judge, Lexi Sekuless as the State Prosecutor and Mark Lee as the Defendant.

Lexi Sekuless as the State Prosecutor

Director, Kim Beamish, ensures that the script unfolds at a good pace and the depiction of events on board the plane at critical moments was imaginative and well-played.

This is a play in which moral and legal issues are of most importance. In the lobby after the performance, a spirited discussion continued, showing that the audience had been deeply moved.

 

Photos supplied by the production

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.