Moving play with shocking sexual theme opens in Surbiton

The Laramie Project, hailed as one of the most captivating and encompassing pieces of contemporary theatre, is coming to Kingston.

Written by Venezuelan-born Jewish playwright and director, Moisés Kaufman, the play tells the story of the brutal murder in 1998 of Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was discovered bound to a fence outside Laramie, Wyoming USA, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of brutality and hate that shocked the nation.

Moisés Kaufman is known for his perceptive and moving plays, works that are often rooted in issues of sexuality. The Laramie project shocks, challenges and moves all who watch it, as it reveals the lowest depths of hatred, and greatest heights of compassion, that lie within all human beings in any seemingly average community. It is one of the most-performed theatre pieces in America, described by New York magazine as: “A terrific piece of theatre, history, and life…. Nothing short of stunning…. A theatrical and human event.”

The verbatim play was written after Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie and conducted more than 200 interviews with its citizens.

In this production, Cellar Door Theatre Company recreates the essence and the residents of the town of Laramie, with nine ensemble performers playing 64 roles. The murder of Matthew

The Shepard murder may have taken place decades ago, but its themes on hate crimes are as relevant today as they were then.

The Laramie Project is at The Corner House in Surbiton 29 October – 1 November. thecornerhouse.org