Lorilei
{{Short description|2003 play}}
{{Infobox play
| name = Lorilei: A Meditation on Loss
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| writer = {{plainlist|
- Tom Wright
- Nicholas Harrington
}}
| based_on = Trial transcripts
| characters = Lorilei Guillory
| setting =
| premiere = 2003
| place = Australia
| orig_lang = English
| subject = Morality of capital punishment
| genre = Monodrama
| web =
}}
Lorilei: A Meditation on Loss is a 2003 play by Tom Wright and Nicholas Harrington, based on a capital murder trial in Louisiana, United States.{{cite news |first=Kate |last=Herbert |title=Lorilei by Tom Wright & Nicholas Harrington |newspaper=Herald Sun |date=28 October 2003 |url=https://kateherberttheatrereviews.blogspot.com/2003/10/lorilei-tom-wright-nicholas-harrington.html |access-date=1 August 2021}}
Theme
The play tells the true story of Lorilei Guillory, whose six-year-old son, Jeremy, was murdered in 1992 in Iowa, Louisiana, by a man with schizophrenia. During the second trial of the man convicted of the crime, Ricky Langley, Guillory testified for the defendant, stating her opinion that he was mentally ill at the time of the offence and should not be sentenced to die.{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/death-row-defender-1-727840|title=Death row defender|last=Mansfield|first=Susan|date=2005-08-09|newspaper=The Scotsman|pages=33|accessdate=2016-04-10}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/feb/22/theatre |title=Lorilei |first=Michael |last=Billington |newspaper=The Guardian |date=22 February 2005 |access-date=14 July 2021}} The retrial ended in a verdict of diminished capacity, rather than the original death sentence.
A solo performance, the play is presented as a narrative constructed from the transcripts of the trial. It explores Guillory's struggle with the loss of her young child but also her compassion for the man who killed him.
Staging and reception
First staged in 2003 in Australia, the play has been presented around the world including at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2005.{{cite news |title=Spectator |first=Lloyd |last=Evans |work=Theatre Record |page=225 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spQrAQAAIAAJ |year=2005}}{{cite news|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article1936809.ece|title=Play stages attack on death penalty |last=Malvern |first=Jack |date=2005-08-13 |newspaper=The Times |pages=34|accessdate=2016-04-10}} Reviewing the 2005 London staging at The Old Red Lion, Guardian critic Michael Billington gave the play four stars out of five, calling it an "extraordinary evening" and explaining that, after watching the play and listening to an after-show discussion, "one comes to understand how it is possible for mercy to triumph over revenge." An adaptation for radio by BBC Radio 4 won the 2007 Sony Radio Award for Drama.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6610609.stm |title=Sony Radio Awards: The winners |work=BBC News |date=1 May 2007 |access-date=14 July 2021}}
In 2014, the Justice Project Pakistan commissioned an Urdu translation of the play.{{cite news |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/magazine/instep-today/82979-Lorilei-turns-the-tables-on-human-morality |title=Lorilei turns the tables on human morality |first=Buraq |last=Shabbir |date=19 December 2015 |newspaper=The News International |access-date=14 July 2021}}{{cite news |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1009907/between-crime-and-punishment |title=Between crime and punishment |date=14 December 2015 |newspaper=The Express Tribune |access-date=1 August 2021}} A company toured Pakistan presenting the English and Urdu versions on alternating dates. The News International praised actor Nimra Bucha for her performance in English and described the story as deliberately slow-paced but "instantly gripping". Reviewing Sania Saeed's performance of the Urdu version, Dawn said she showed "the kind of emotional investment in the script which makes art reflect life".{{cite news |url=https://images.dawn.com/news/1174474 |title=Lorelei: Between forgiving and forgetting |first=Peerzada |last=Salman |newspaper=Dawn |date=19 December 2015 |access-date=1 August 2021}}