The Laramie Project

Once upon a time, the US town of Laramie, Wyoming, was best known as the setting for a famous TV western from the early 1960s. All of this changed in October 1998 when 21 year old Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence post, pistol whipped, beaten, tortured and then abandoned in freezing conditions. He was discovered 18 hours later, by a cyclist – who had mistaken him for a scarecrow and was rushed to hospital where he clung to life for the next five days as news of the brutal crime hit national headlines. The two perpetrators were apprehended soon after, at which time it emerged that they had lured Matthew from a bar, by pretending to be gay. Suddenly this friendly, family-oriented, God-fearing town of Laramie had now become the site of one of the most heinous hate-crimes in US history.

Five weeks later, Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theatre Project went to Laramie, and over the course of the next 18 months, conducted over 200 interviews with townsfolk. From these interviews came the play The Laramie Project, a verbatim chronicle of life in Laramie in the year after the murder. It has since become one of the most performed plays in the US.

With the support of WWLT's 'Flash' initiative – to support community through live theatre - local Artist/Activist, Jessica Alex took the play on as a community building and awareness-raising project, encouraging participants to contribute their thoughts and feelings in the devising of the piece.

The resulting production takes place on a sparse set – which is basically a black expanse, populated by a dozen chairs – which are used to great effect in creating each new scene. Atmospheric lighting contributes to the tension from the get-go.

Each actor is given at least two different characters to portray and while the on-stage experience of each performer varies widely – it's extremely apparent just how much the workshopping process galvanised this 14 member ensemble into a tightly-knit unit. Their obvious passion and conviction for these harshest of truths that they are presenting – keeps the audience riveted throughout.

With multi-media additions in the form of projected 'live TV news broadcasts' – the overall effect is indeed transportive. This is a window into human nature through which no one wants to look. Every cast member holds their own throughout – but undoubtedly the most affecting moment in the play, comes at the end, when the victim statement, given by Shepard's father, is read out with gut wrenching emotion by Tyron McMaster. Incredibly, his father recommended against the death penalty for his son's murderer. Quote: “I would Iike nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney. However, this is the time to begin the heaIing process...to show mercy to someone who refused to show any mercy.”

While Shepard's death was instrumental in the creation of the Hate-crimes Prevention Act, to be signed into US law, it did not happen until ten years later. It's interesting to also note that it is only as recently as May 2015 that the Laramie City council voted 7-2 in favour of an ordinance that bannned discrimination by housing, employment or public facilities on the basis of sexual orientation.

While these facts seem heartening evidence of slow moving social progress – this year “religious freedom” legislation is being passed country wide which ostensibly seeks to find loopholes against the anti-discrimination act on the basis of religious beliefs. While ever governments continue to restrict citizens' civil rights – theatrical presentations like The Laramie Project remain as important as ever, especially in Australia where the underlying message of intolerance continues to be all too relevant.

Kudos to Jessica Alex, her cast and crew for taking up arms in the ongoing battle for equality. 

Rose Cooper