戲劇中的真實性與人性探索：《但丁或死亡》與《吻婚殺》的故事解析

B offers the safety of verisimilitude as a play about real events, but whether the facts of the story are true or not isn't always enough to make us believe them. Dante or Die's new production about a homophobic gay man in prison is energetic and builds on significant research, but the storytelling ignores the surface of the tricky subject matter it tackles and struggles to bring the complex characters to life.

《吻婚殺》講述了傑伊（道達·拉德喬比飾）的故事，他因害怕朋友們發現而謀殺了一名與他交往的男子，因此被終身監禁。伴隨著監獄床鋪疊在一起的叮噹聲和萊克茲夫人的說唱聲，傑伊匆忙忘記了家裡懷孕的未婚妻，並開始與迷人的殺人犯保羅（格雷厄姆·麥凱-布魯斯飾）建立關係。該劇的靈感來自比小說更離奇的事件，講述了米哈伊爾·加拉蒂諾夫和馬克·古德溫的故事，兩人都因謀殺男同性戀而被定罪，成為第一對在監獄裡結婚的同性伴侶。

The play was produced in collaboration with forensic psychologists, academics and inmates, but the oversimplified characterizations make it difficult to truly understand why Jay and Paul behave the way they do. Neither man fully considers their past behavior, and their progress is a frantic, unexplained leap rather than a carefully charted step. We see Jay as a man so disgusted and terrified by the attraction of men that he kills a stranger in a blind rage, but all it takes is for a handsome Scotsman to flirt with him and he is quickly transformed into a soft and gentle soul, happy and relaxed in the arms of his new partner. Is he suddenly satisfied with his eccentricities? Is their love meant to redeem them?

Perhaps it's the choice of material in the face of such extremes of human behavior that makes it difficult to get to the heart of the character. Perhaps that's the speed at which the story develops. There are still many unexplored depths in this tour de force, but it raises some interesting questions about the extent to which love can change a person's morality.

Stone Nest, London, with a deadline of April 27th. Then touring until May 19th.