Death of a Murderer

‘Death of a Murderer,’ an award-winning novel by UK author Rupert Thomson, was short-listed for the ‘2007 Whitbread Book of the Year’. This skilful stage adaptation of the book is by WA actor Matt Penny. Plink Plonk Productions present this World First, at The Blue Room Theatre until the 4^th July. All shows 8pm.

         In the morgue of West Suffolk Hospital in November 2002, a detective (Chris McCafferty) gives us a run down of the heinous crimes of the woman in the locked freezer drawer – Myra Hindley. He then hands over the scary job of guarding the corpse overnight to Constable Billy Tyler (Michael Rae). Billy’s wife (Nina Deasley) is worried that Hindley will reach out from the grave to her husband, and so invents an excuse to go around to see him. The eeriness of the morgue makes her enlighten her husband to a tragedy, which almost befell their 8-year-old daughter whilst they were on holiday the previous year, and that until now, she has been scared to relate.

         Later, as Billy catches up with some report writing, an old school friend, Trevor Lydagte (Kingsley Judd), appears. Still severely traumatised after decades, he retells his horrendous encounter with Hindley and her partner in crime, Ian Brady.

         Then appears the ghost of Myra Hindley (Helen Angell). After 37 years of imprisonment and abuse by the other prisoners, she is a broken woman. Myra puts forward her side of the story and the misery of her incarceration.

Director Matt Penny gathered a fabulous team of actors, who without blood, gore and any gratuitous descriptions of violence, really make your skin creep. The heart wrenching description of Trevor’s experience by Kingsley Judd is a masterpiece. The cold expressionless face of Hindley, really has you starting to feel sorry for this torturing monster. Billy and his wife’s family story is touching. The chilling mood was captured perfectly.

The AV presentation, which takes us from Hindley’s house to the top of bleak Saddleworth Moor, is clever and effective (sorry did not catch the designer’s name).

Lighting design by Joe Lui and Mike Nanning, was ingenious and sensitive. The costumes, prison greens and the clothes of the day were simple but effective. Subtle piano music by Matt Penny completed this disturbing picture. A chilling atmosphere is one of the hardest to achieve in the theatre but this team were spot on. Several interesting stories woven into one. Well worth seeing.