Review: The Laramie Project

***

The Laramie Project was a highly thought-provoking experience about the brutal murder of a young gay man, Matthew Shepherd, by local thugs in small-town America, and the diverse range of effects that the brutal crime has on the town.

The play manages to skilfully encapsulate a wide range of often contradictory responses of the town’s people while never negating any one person or showing any sense of bias. One way this is achieved is through the unusual ambiguity of character. Each actor plays many roles, and while on one hand this sometimes makes it difficult to follow the action, on the other it allows almost the entire town to be represented, and a wide range of responses to be recorded and performed. Acting in a play like this is a challenge from the offset, as character doesn’t matter nearly as much as the moral message that is being portrayed. Yet, in spite of this, there were many skilled and moving performances by a number of cast members.

Elliot Douglas deserves special mention, performing two of the play’s most moving monologues. Douglas’ portrayal of the man who found the body of Matthew Shepherd was chilling. His transition, embodying the victim’s father, also shone for its incredible emotive power.

Charlotte Kelly also displayed fantastic acting ability in arguably less significant roles, which made the attention-grabbing nature of the performances all the more impressive. Also worthy of mention are Brianna Chu and Louis Catliff, who manage to portray a range of different moral perspectives equally successfully.

The Laramie Project is a play that feels like a work in progress. Its active engagement with the playwriting process creates a sense that even the playwrights are trying to piece together the true morality of Laramie’s people. Having the playwrights as characters helps give continuity to the sometimes sporadic interviews, and reminds us that the play is an attempt to uncover the truth – via the characters, as well as through audience. The fact that the cast members sat in on the interviews and reacted to them also reminded the audience that everything was being said as a public declaration, never a private confession.

In Laramie, the director, Nataliea Abramowitz, created an intimate feel and enraptured viewers by removing characters from the stage during scenes of emotional importance. The success of The Laramie Project lies in the messages it broadcasts to the audience. Effectively tackling issues such as hate crime and the death penalty is difficult for any cast, but this play manages to do so in a touching way. The storyline was highly thought provoking, and the dedication of the cast to their ever-changing roles resulted in an intensely emotional piece of theatre. Although at times, Laramie was slightly too densely serious, the fast-paced acting abilities of the cast kept the audience enthralled throughout.

The play relies on its aftermath, as it gets more thought-provoking when noticing things in hindsight. The key moment, when the reverent begs that ‘if you write a play, say it correct,’ left everyone wondering if ‘correct’ can ever be a concrete term. While it can’t claim to be uplifting, this production of The Laramie Project was a skilfully executed, morally stimulating theatrical experience.

Photos by Katie Brennan