Wasted

Even as the audience take their seats Myra Hindley, aged and bitter, sits towards the front of the stage as if she were about to narrate. In fact she remains there, in her prison cell, throughout the duration of the performance, as a constant reminder of what, or more accurately who, the play is dealing with. It is from this position that she delivers her monologue which, together with the interrupting scenes powerfully differentiated by strong lighting, provides the structure for this evocative piece of theatre.

This unnerving performance, which challenges everyone to think, deals with the notorious story of the 1960s Moors murders committed by Ian Brady and assisted by Myra Hindley. More particularly it is concerned with Hindley's role and that of the public, urging us to actually think about crime and punishment, and the effects of life prison sentences. It is impressive however, as the production successfully deals with these matters objectively and subtly.

The chilling story is revealed through the snippets of scenes shown to us from various parts of the story including the court room, the police station, Brady's philosophical rants about murder, cleaning blood off the floor, and even news bulletins announcing Hindley's death. Writer and director Henry Filloux-Bennett effectively tells the story that his entire audience is already familiar with, producing a powerful play in which he restrains from the temptation of painting a one-sided portrait of Hindley as the evil woman that the press has crudely presented her as over the years.