ACT Reviews 2022-2023 Season

THE LARAMIE PROJECT Moisés Kaufman and members of The Tectonic Theatre Project True life drama directed by: John Cummings Burnley Garrick Theatre Group Other than the Facebook publicity I had seen for this production, which certainly whetted my appetite and gave me a basic idea of the structure and subject matter, I was not sure what to expect from this play. Knowing a little of the true-life story that “The Laramie Project” depicts I expected to be saddened, at times horrified, and certainly moved, as well as to be impressed by the versatility of the cast taking on multiple roles – and all these emotions were certainly there. What I did not expect was to feel joy, hope and even humour, but nevertheless these emotions were interwoven throughout. As you can tell this really was a play that triggered a lot of emotions for me, and this is to the credit of cast, crew, authors, director, and musicians alike who brought together this very powerful piece of theatre to tell a story that needs to be told. Upon entering the auditorium, following the lovely warm welcome I received from Martin Chadwick, I was struck by the set – the bright blue of the projection seemed to suggest a relaxed warm summer day, but the structure in front of it (which we later discover is the fence Matthew Shepard was tied to) and the crates on the auditorium floor reminded me of No Man's Land and made me feel uneasy. I did not initially notice the blood on the structure until it was revealed to be the fence, but I wonder if subconsciously

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