REVIEW: The Marilyn Conspiracy, Park Theatre
What really happened in the days leading up to Marilyn Monroe's death?
This week’s shooting of US presidential candidate Donald Trump revives, for many of us, memories of the shootings of President Kennedy and his brother Bobby. And those days of 1960s America are vividly brought to life in the Marilyn Conspiracy playing this month at London’s Park Theatre.
The story centres around film star Marilyn Monroe – the lover of both Kennedy brothers – and the events leading up to her death. Even now, decades later, her death invites intense speculation and conspiracy theories.
What really happened in August 1962 when Monroe was found dead? The official verdict was “probable suicide”, but many believed, and still maintain, this was a cover up to mask a far more sinister plot involving senator Bobby Kennedy and the diary kept by Monroe to record her life.
Set in the round, with a slowly revolving stage, this compelling story uses flashbacks to recreate the days leading up to Marilyn Monroe’s final hours. Seven people played vital roles in her life, and two were Jewish – her personal doctor Dr Hyman Engelberg, who officially confirmed her death, and her psychoanalyst Greenson and his wife Hildi. A third was the English-American actor Peter Lawford a member of the Rat Pack and the brother-in-law of US president John F Kennedy. They are seen on stage with Lawford’s wife, Kennedy’s sister, Pat. Also present are Monroe’s housekeeper Eunice Murray and Pat Newcomb, Monroe’s publicist and the only one of the group still alive today.
This is a tale of corruption, intrigue and uncertainty that challenges the audience, in true thriller tradition, to decide for themselves what really happened on that fateful evening. Was Marilyn Monroe the victim of a drug overdose or was she murdered, and if so by whom?
Co-writer Vicki McKellar professes to a lifelong fascination with Monroe. In her research into the film star’s life, she discovered there were experts who maintained Monroe’s death was definitely not suicide. McKellar joined forces with award-winning co-writer Guy Masterson, known for his solo theatre performances in Under Milk Wood and Animal Farm, to recreate on stage the final days of the film star’s life.
Genevieve Gaunt’s authentic portrayal of Monroe brings the play to life and she sounds just like the real Monroe. Other cast members are not as convincing, with accents slipping. But the effective use of costume and props helps to transport the audience back to the 1960s Monroe’s Los Angeles apartment. Surrounded by her closest friends, we see a Monroe who, despite having just secured a multi-million-pound movie contract, is at her most vulnerable.
Monroe’s “suicide” had far-reaching implications for her seven closest friends. Monroe may have lost her life but her death put her friends in peril as they too had plenty to lose. The audience has to decide for itself whether a fragile Monroe would, at the peak of her career, really feel suicidal, or if there were far more sinister players who wanted Monroe out of the way because she was a liability and a risk.
Despite many heated exchanges and much dialogue, there is one fundamental flaw with the play, namely that there are no definitive answers. And, as any whodunnit fan will tell you, what you want to know at the end is who did it and why. But sadly, after more than two hours, we do not have those answers. The dialogue and the intrigue, are speculative, and as you leave the theatre you are left wishing that McKellar could have managed to take her research one step further, to personally speak to Monroe’s publicist, and discover what really happened. Had that been the case, then this play could have been sensational.
Was Marilyn the victim of a drug overdose or was she murdered, and if so by whom?
The Marilyn Conspiracy is at Park Theatre until 27 July. Recommended age 14+
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