Down The Road

Playhouse East • 4 March - 29 March

This three-hander revolves around two journalists, Dan Henniman (Aaron Vodovoz) and Iris Henniman, (Annelise Bianchini), a married couple who have been commissioned to write a book about an imprisoned serial killer. The couple find themselves staying in an isolated motel for the duration of the time they have to interview their subject, Bill Reach (Joshua Collins), who is serving out his sentence in a nearby prison. Despite their initial enthusiasm for the project, Dan and Iris find that the diet of gruesome details they are being served-up by the unrepentant Reach on a daily basis starts to take its toll on the couple’s private life, as they try to unpick the stories that surround his 19 brutal murders. They also discover that the journalistic integrity they started out with is at risk of being manipulated by Reach who seems on a quest “to become unforgettable at any price”. To further help ensure the success of his ambition, the two journalists come to suspect that the lines between fact and fiction are slowly beginning to blur, but are hamstrung by an agreement with the publisher that the book is only to be produced on Reach’s terms.

Originally written in 1991 it could be argued that Lee Blessings play is even more relevant today given the explosion in popularity during the intervening years of the true crime podcast which, as director Tracy Mathewson points out in the show notes, has successfully ‘turned our fascination with murder from curiosity to consumption’. It’s a sentiment that is more than backed up by the staggering listening figures this genre of podcast regularly achieves, it’s shift into the sphere of entertainment being reflected by Reach’s own slow shift in his motivation for telling his story, from seemingly wanting just to be heard to giving the people what they want, even if it requires the occasional embellishment in order to compete with others who might be in the same game of seeking long-lasting notoriety for their crimes. Despite his apparent openness, Dan and Iris find themselves repeatedly feeling frustrated by Reach’s determination to hold back on the more revealing personal information they feel are central to the integrity of their work.

More ‘intense psychological thriller’ than ‘serial killer carve-up’, (and being all the better for it) Down The Road’s story unfolds in the duel locations of the motel bedroom and prison cell, the staging of which cuts through the audience like a catwalk. With a warm motel bedroom at one end, and a cold stark prison cell at the other, the audience are served a very different perspective of events depending on where they sit. Unfortunately, from my position at the ‘motel’ end of the room, the prison cell remained largely obscured from view given that the first two rows of seating in the otherwise well renovated space are not tiered, an unfortunate oversight in an otherwise inventive set design from Katren Wood. Despite this blocked eye-line, Tracy Mathewson’s directorial decision to occasionally put the actors amongst the audience meant Joshua Collins went from being hidden from view to being sat in the seat in front of me, such extremes creating a bizarre but no-doubt intentionally unnerving experience made all the more so by his impressive portrayal of the serial killer, complete with flashes of volatility, charm, manipulation, control and anger, the suitably tense atmosphere he created leaving the audience hanging on his every word. The effect of this meant it felt increasingly uncomfortable to have him in such close physical proximity in this relatively intimate space, (let alone sat in the chair in front of you), and Collins uses that to his advantage as he show’s no hesitation in catching the occasional audience members eye with a chilling stare.

Vodovoz and Bianchini turn out equally satisfying performances as they skilfully capture the shift in their own characters journey from being desperate to uncover the truth to being desperate to bring the increasingly uncomfortable experience they find themselves in to a conclusion, their own surroundings having also become something of a prison itself. Methewson continues to makes a number of strong directorial choices throughout, not least of which is having Reach slowly begin to infiltrate the journalist couples physical space, an inventive reflection of his increasingly invasive occupation of their mental space, consuming their time, their thoughts and their relationship.

Whilst I confess the true crime corner of the podcasting sphere is one that has all but passed me by, (albeit having friends that would appear to listen to precious little else), I, like most of the press night audience, found myself completely riveted by the mind games and the struggle of both the journalists and the serial killer to control the narrative. I’m not entirely sure how satisfied I was by the plays conclusion, but by it’s very design, this was never going to be a black and white narrative, and I confess to finding the best theatre will often ask more challenging questions of it’s audience than it’s prepared to answer.

★★★★

Down The Road is on at Playhouse East until 29th March. Tickets available here

review: Simon J. Webb