Writer: Lee Blessing
Director: Tracy Mathewson
Reviewer: Christine Stanton
“Needs More Urgency“
3 / 5
~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub ~
We’re in an era where true crime is everywhere – podcasts, drama adaptations and documentaries all delving into the minds of killers and their crimes, so much so that the details are often no longer shocking or affecting, and instead, just standard everyday entertainment.
Married couple Dan (Aaron Vodovoz) and Iris (Annelise Bianchini) have secured the rights to write infamous serial killer Bill Reach’s (Joshua Collins) tell-all book, outlining the grisly details of the 19 women he raped and murdered. Hoping the book will be a career highlight, they pander to Reach, allowing him to control the subject matter and line of questioning to ensure they stay on his good side, ignoring the fact some of the content is clearly embellished or factually incorrect.
Reach is arrogant and fame-hungry, already holding back details in the hopes of a sequel, toying with, and manipulating the two writers in the same way he treated his victims, using them as a means to an end for his own personal gain. The more Dan and Iris get sucked into Reach’s orbit, the more they lose themselves, and their journalistic integrity, struggling to disassociate and leave their work within the prison walls each night.
Lee Blessing’s show first debuted in 1991, when public interest in serial killers was on a lesser scale than today, but director Tracy Mathewson has modernised some of the content so that the urge to be the most shocking or prolific is reflected in the text alongside everything else. The subject matter itself is well-layered – the relationship between Dan and Iris, public consumption of true crime, the ethical implications of true crime writing and Reach’s desperation to be in the spotlight are all fascinating, with a lot of potential to come from each of these avenues.
That being said, the script itself often falls quite flat – the interviews in the prison are largely repetitive and lacking anything too compelling. The slow deterioration of Dan and Iris’ mental state and relationship communication is interesting, but again not quite reaching its full potential. The slow toll Reach is taking on the couple culminates in a slow, often unfulfilling pace on stage also.
Mathewson’s split stage works well in segregating the prison and motel, and the time between both locations is well-balanced. When Reach begins appearing in the motel room as a metaphor for how he is infiltrating the couple’s downtime, it is fantastically done. There is no fanfare, and instead, he is inserted into mundane situations such as watching TV with them, which in itself creates a fabulously ominous and chilling atmosphere, largely helped by Collin’s excellent depiction of Reach’s unfazed, psychotic and cold demeanour. This is also showcased in the few situations where Reach directly interacts with the audience – psychotically staring directly at people, before walking away and plastering over the evil look with a charming smile, Collins executes his role as a serial killer with perfection.
Vodovoz and Bianchini do a good job at showing the cracks in their relationship the longer they spend with Reach, the initial tender, light-hearted conversations between them quickly turning bitter and frustrated. Blessing’s show has a great foundation, and focusing on the glorification of crime rather than the crimes themselves is an intriguing scope. There just needs to be a bit more urgency and tension built within the scenes to really grip the audience and add an intensity that replicates the subject matter at hand.
Runs Until 29 March 2025
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