How perpetrators of violence justify their actions
Two one-act plays presented as a double-bill, each centring on an act of knife violence, He Said/She Said revives Dom Riley’s Misconduct and Madeline Gould’s Ladykiller, looking at how violence happens and what responsibility is taken by its perpetrator.
Pursuing themes of football hooliganism and coming of age male friendships, Misconduct follows Richie, a young man feeling left behind as his best friend’s life moves forward. Amidst destabilising change, Richie grapples with self-deception as he navigates the fall-out of an act of violence. Ladykiller, a dark tale of misdirection, takes us on a frenzied ride through the complicated psyche of a chambermaid who kills a hotel guest. In the aftermath of the violence, she sets out to justify her own actions, maintaining a calculated, intellectual detachment from what she has done.
Linked together by knife crime, the two monologues delve into the psychological landscape of their characters as they self-justify, and question what leads anyone to commit violence and the disassociation from guilt and acceptance of responsibility.
Director Claire Evans said, “Having recently worked on a revival of a 2019 Fringe First Winner, Bobby and Amy, I have been inspired to revisit other short-form plays that burned brightly and then afterwards smouldered, unwatched and unread. The power and themes of these two plays have stayed with me for over a decade and I felt both deserved a fresh look. Hopefully other producers and directors might feel inspired to give recent contemporary writing a new lease of life.”
Gwithian Evans as Richie in Misconduct
Geebs Marie Williams as Her in Ladykiller
The White Bear, 138 Kennington Park Rd, London SE11 4DJ
Tues – Sat, 7:30pm
£22.00 – £18.00 | whitebeartheatre.co.uk | 07496 442747
