Review: BIBLE JOHN, VAULT Festival

In 1969, a serial killer brutally murdered three women in Scotland. Nicknamed Bible John by the police and the press, his identity is still a mystery. In the present day, four young women who are bored out of their minds while temping in an office find out that they share a mild obsession with true crime podcasts. As they start bonding with Carrie LaRue's investigation on the Glaswegian case, they try their own hand at giving justice to the victims.

Bible John is a remarkably layered show about female friendship, the ethics of true crime entertainment, and the underlying anxiety of being a woman. Lizzie Manwaring directs Renee Bailey, Carla Garratt, Caitlin McEwan, and Louise Waller as the inquisitive temps, with McEwan also penning a perceptive piece that's as gripping as it is enriching. The exuberant storytelling is matched by an inventive approach to direction.

The production explores the increasing fascination with gore and the morbid interest offered by genre-specific podcasts among women, and ties it with a ribbon in a compelling reflection on education as a form of prevention. While the core delivery is quite humorous and led by unashamed passion, by its end the play turns upon its head and becomes a fierce and feminist address that denounces violence and fear.

They analyse how the broken lives of real people have become a freak attraction to entertain the masses by cleverly pointing out how little is actually known about the friends and mothers who were viciously killed. The lines between the need for vindication and a pastime blur, but McEwan's final explosion uncovers the noxious attitudes. Their portrayals are ardent and invested throughout; Manwaring creates ever-moving visuals while the characters attempt to make sense of the evidence.

As a whole, the production is still slightly rough around the edges, but truly impressive even with very little means. They mould together speculations and facts, curiosity and goodwill, always keeping their finger on the pulse by healthily calling themselves and their behaviours out. McEwan has written a captivating piece of theatre and Manwaring directed it with precision and verve. Bible John is definitely bound for bigger things.

Bible John runs at VAULT Festival until 16 February.

Image credit: Ali Wright

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