“The power of The Laramie Project lies in the fact these are the words of actual residents – and they’re both brutal and heart-wrenching.”
Alethea Mouhtouris
4.5 Stars
Venue: New Theatre
Sydney : Newtown
Dates ” Until Nov 1st
4 and a half sparkling lights
The Laramie Project is a play that is as important today as it was almost three decades ago when it was first performed. It focuses on the horrific 1998 torture and murder of young gay college student Matthew Shepard in Wyoming.
Isolated, bound to a fence, with a shattered skull and unable to move, Matthew spent 18 hours in near freezing temperatures, looking at Laramie’s sparkling lights which he loved, tears streaking through the blood on his face. He died in hospital six days later.
Written by playwright Moises Kaufman and members of Tectonic Theater Project, the play pulls together interviews conducted with Laramie residents in the wake of the murder as well as statements and court documents. The pool of interviewees is broad, and so are the views expressed. We hear from people like Matthew’s father and friends, his college teacher, detectives, the bartender, religious leaders, a local rancher, ER doctor, the killers. We also hear from other LGBTQ people, Laramie residents, who were careful to not stand out.
Directed by Mark G Nagle, this production keenly captures deep hatred, fear, denial, anguish, and confusion that existed in Laramie, and probably continues to this day. This is reflected in the characters, but also in the stark set, notably a raw wooden fence which casts a cross-shaped shadow on the projector screen at the rear of the stage.
The talented 10-member ensemble adopts various roles, noticeable via small clothing changes onstage and accents, from southern drawls to crisp Brooklyn. (Shoutout to accent coach Carmen Lysiak.)
Each member of the ensemble gave everything to this performance.
Standouts for me were Stephen Allnutt (especially for his fierce portrayals of the detective sergeant who locked down the killers, the very compassionate Catholic priest who agreed to participate in the interviews but insisted ‘Tell it right’, and at the other end of the scale, a hate-filled evangelist), and Rich Knighton, who played the role of Matthew’s father, Dennis. He delivered a courtroom speech given by Matthew’s father, Dennis Shepard, with such deep and raw emotion, it brought audience members to tears. Gina Cohen moved fluidly and distinctly between her characters: mother of Matthew, mother of the police officer who cared for him on the scene, and the emergency doctor who treated Matthew, to name a few.
Also noteworthy were Charlie White playing the distressed young man who discovered Matthew, as well as both killers – particularly the key perpetrator who insisted on a trial – and Rayyan Khan who played the likeable bartender and Matthew’s friend with levity mixed with sorrow.
There were moments in The Laramie Project when I wanted to throw my empty Pringles can at the stage out of frustration at the hateful and divisive bile spilling from the mouths of religious leaders as well as various characters.
Near me, a young audience member sobbed throughout the second half of the play, and while it was mildly distracting at the time, I later reflected on the absolute necessity for people to feel and respond to the play in a visceral way. The power of The Laramie Project lies in the fact these are the words of actual residents – and they’re both brutal and heart-wrenching.
As someone who remembers this murder, I have witnessed a significant shift in gay rights since then, with the introduction of hate crime legislation, and greater freedom to be open and transparent about one’s personal life (in major cities, at any rate). It’s a terrible irony that this immense change was achieved through Matthew’s death and not through the work he might have accomplished as a political science graduate.
Matthew wasn’t the first to be brutally murdered for who he was, and he won’t be the last. Here we are, almost 30 years later, in a world that’s brimming with hatred and on the verge of a fearsome future. People still can’t be themselves, can’t express who they are, without fear of retribution or vilification. Is that not insane?
The Laramie Project should be on every syllabus in every school to teach the ugly and destructive nature of hatred, to show that love and hope persist, and that we can choose which voices we listen to.
Photos (c) Chris Lundie
Alethea Mouhtouris, Theatre Now
