Naima Khan looks forward to the controversial play The Laramie Project at Greenwich Theatre
The Laramie Project runs for only five days this September at Greenwich Theatre. Using a handful of actors it conveys the thoughts of dozens of citizens of Laramie, Wyoming after the murder of one of its gay residents.
The death of 21 year old university student Matthew Shephard in 1998 sparked a media circus and despite the Laramie police believing that robbery was the primary motive, it became a symbol for hate crimes across America. The nation's reaction to Matthew's death paints a curious portrait of a country angered, but also cautious in its reaction. At the time, President Clinton called for federal hate-crime legislation and Matthew's father Denis Shephard said “we should not use Matt to further an agenda”.
Director Moisés Kaufman, Tectonic Theater Project and Wild Oats Productions present a human collage of the responses to Matthew's death depicting a fascinating breadth of reactions. Though it requires only basic staging, it's deceptive in its simplicity. Its content is thought-provoking, often dark, occasionally harrowing and sometimes funny.
With a collage of text such as this comes a compelling range of character. Expect to meet the bartender who last saw Matthew alive, students, parents, the families of Matthew's killers, their religious advisors, university professors and the policewoman who cut him down from the fence to which he had be tied.
The Laramie Project throws up a number of issues in its content and its form. It highlights the lack of verifiable information that got back to the people of Laramie, the sensationalist tabloid reporting and also effectively makes us question the place of journalism in theatre.
The Laramie Project had its British premiere at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2002 and remains a successful, relevant piece of theatre today.
The Laramie Project runs from 21st-25th September at Greenwich Theatre
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