Never The Sinner

Nash Theatre’s second entry in their 2015 series of “murder” plays is John Logan’s compelling look at Leopold and Loeb’s heinous thrill-kill in 1924 Chicago and their subsequent trial where they were defended by legendary defence attorney Clarence Darrow.

Told in a series of short, sharp scenes with the occasional flashback, it’s a well-researched, well-written docudrama of the infamous trial and is totally engrossing in Nash’s appropriately spare-bones production by Dan Lane. Two tables and half a dozen chairs constitute the set, Al Jolson recordings set the times, cloche hats evoke the period, and it’s all lit strikingly for dramatic effect by Phil Carney.

Called “the crime of the century” at the time, the senseless murder was quickly solved after Leopold’s glasses were found at the scene of the crime, and both young men, who were then only 19 and 20 respectively, confessed. Leopold and Loeb both came from wealthy German-Jewish ancestry and both were exceptionally intelligent. At University they became disciples of Nietzche and his Ubermenschen concept of supermen, discovered a shared obsession with crime, and developed a passionately close homosexual relationship. Darrow’s 12-hour-long summation of the trial and his plea for the abolition of capital punishment (which was received favourably), became a milestone in the history of criminal trials. Logan doesn’t sugar-coat the proceedings but allows the events to unfold with stark and chilling reality.

Kurtis Laing’s Leopold was a perfect mixture of bravado, superciliousness and indifference, whilst James Meggitt’s Loeb was manipulative, bullying, and totally amoral. Although both characters are abhorrent Laing and Meggitt imbued them with a very real humanity. The latter’s inappropriate laughter during the prosecutor’s detail of the crime was chillingly effective. Tony Granzien as chief prosecutor Robert Crowe had authority and plead his eye-for-an-eye death-penalty POV with prosecutorial zeal, while Ralph Porter as Darrow effectively argued his case in what was a précis version of Darrow’s iconic original. Bianca Reynolds, Alexandria Page and Patrick Farrelly as a Greek-chorus of reporters, doctors and girlfriend added to the overall strength of this solid production.

Despite accents that ranged here, there and everywhere, with nary a genuine “Chi-caw-go” one in sight, Logan’s deeply thoughtful and relevant intent was realised.

Peter Pinne