By Moises Kaufman and
members of Tectonic Theatre
Directed by Chris
Baldock
Mockingbird Theatre
production
Theatre 3 to 22 June
Reviewed by Len Power
June 7 & 8, 2019
Two plays performed in repertory, ‘The Laramie Project’ and
‘The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later’, focus on the 1998 murder of a gay
student, Matthew Shepard, in the town of Laramie Wyoming. A particularly vicious murder by two young
men who hated gays, the crime brought attention to the lack of hate crime laws
in various US states including Wyoming.
Tectonic Theatre Company members conducted hundreds of
interviews in Laramie subsequent to the murder and returned ten years later to
repeat the process. The plays, fashioned
from the information obtained, give a fascinating and disturbing insight into
the minds of the members of a tight-knit community. It causes us to question attitudes and values
universally. An example of verbatim
theatre, eight actors portray more than sixty characters who speak in their own
words as recorded in the interviews.
The first play covers the murder, the trial and the interview
process by the Tectonic Theatre Company members. It was very strong in its
message but its length and too much overstatement caused emotional involvement
to flag eventually. The second play presents
a disturbing picture of townspeople ten years after the murders trying to
rewrite history. ‘Ten years of change, no
progress’ is how one character bleakly sums it up. This play is shorter and doesn’t try as
obviously to engage your emotions and is much more effective as a result.
The plays are finely directed by Chris Baldock who is also
one of the acting ensemble. With a multitude
of characters talking directly to the audience, the plays demand a simple,
cohesive style of presentation. Baldock
achieves this to great effect with a bare stage and changing patterns of
chairs.
 |
| Left to Right: Andrea Close, Hayden Splitt, Liz St Clair Long, Joel Horwood, Michael Cooper, Karen Vickery, Meaghan Stewart and Chris Baldock |
The performances of the eight cast members are flawless. They are Chris Baldock, Andrea Close, Michael
Cooper, Joel Horwood, Hayden Splitt, Liz St Clair Long, Meaghan Stewart and
Karen Vickery. All present fine, believable
characterisations, many of them brief, with believable American accents. The opportunity to
see these powerful performers working together in this memorable production is
not to be missed.
Photos by Janelle McMenamin
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays
and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.