Search

Saved articles

You have not yet added any article to your bookmarks!

Browse articles

GDPR Compliance

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

Myra

 
Rebecca Vines Review by Rebecca Vines 4 Published: 9 Aug 2019 Imagination Workshop Show Dates: 3 Aug 2019-24 Aug 2019

Let’s not mince words – this is a hard watch. A very hard watch. Anyone who grew up with the unforgiving mugshots of the Moors Murderers staring at them from every newsstand will appreciate the chill that thrills through one's veins in just picking up a leaflet with the infamous Hindley stare leering out of it. The prurience of paper-shifting journalists across the years has ensured that Hindley, her lover Ian Brady, and their gruesome murders experience a still-potent notoriety. As the lives of their victims were so casually snuffed out, this adds to the righteous indignation one feels when faced with any information about the pair who stunned a nation with their crimes.

A mesmerising performance of a monster

For those unfamiliar with the source material, Hindley and Brady sexually tortured and killed five children in the 1960s, before burying them on Saddleworth Moor. Convicted just months after the death penalty had been abolished in the UK, the rest of their lives behind bars seemed – to the outside world – to be spent either on hunger strike (Brady) or begging for release (Hindley).

And so, a one-woman show detailing Hindley’s part in the murders is going to be strong stuff. Writer-performer Lauren Varnfield is careful never to seek to apologise for Hindley’s actions, whilst at the same time presenting a three-dimensional woman caught up in a web of domestic violence and murder. The sensitivity and balance in the script must be applauded for not seeking to sensationalise what were sensational stories – it is said that hardened policemen wept in court – nor to underplay the horrors which have now passed into national folklore.

As Hindley, Varnfield is absolutely mesmerising and it is rightly discomfiting to find her performance an engaging and powerful one. She carries the stage with a mixture of swagger and vulnerability, and is clearly a significant talent in a commanding piece which will crawl beneath your skin and give you the shivers.

Related to this article:

Location:

Performances

The Blurb:

Brighton Fringe Award winners 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018. 'You couldn’t hate me more than I hate myself. I have asked God for His forgiveness, but I couldn’t ask for yours, for how can I ever expect you to forgive me when I cannot forgive myself.' Few have attracted such notoriety or public loathing as the Moors Murderers. From her prison cell, Myra’s harrowing story is that of a very dark world which no one wants to visit. 'Brilliant' (Plays International). 'Truly Outstanding' (FringeReview.co.uk).