Christie leaves audience feeling a bit queasy

Christie in Love did not begin with the first scene, that of a British police constable digging in the dirt for human bones. Nor did it start with the Constable reciting bawdy limericks to ease the unpleasant conversation with the Inspector (played by sophomore Patrick Mulryan).

This gritty little play began to take form towards the middle, when serial killer John Reginald Christie (played by sophomore Matthew Van Winkle) vents his unquenchable sexual frustration in simulated masturbation. The frightening air of the scene is multiplied by the pulsing flashlights aimed at Christie while authoritative voices shout their disapproval at him.

Luckily, Little Theater is small enough so that the awkward horror of this scene was not dissipated. Every strobe-like flash illuminated an audience member's startled face. In a culture that seemingly never tires of gratuitous violence and sexual acts, this one scene highlighted that drama can appall the most hardened cynic.

The scene that followed provided only a small breather from the heightening intensity. At this point in the play the audience has ventured into (and been disturbed by) the alarming mind of John Reginald Christie. Turning to a traditional approach, the Inspector and the Constable (senior Ben Esner) start questioning the serial killer. They are mystified by what appears to be a normal man, a World War I veteran who couldn't speak for three years after being gassed.

Fumbling with the stereotypes of the deranged serial killer, the Constable and the Inspector bemoan Christie's ordinary outward appearance. Instead of demonic horns or fangs, Christie wears suspenders and glasses. What most stands out about Christie is what lies inside his head. But, as the constables found out, traditional questioning failed and so they were forced to use more unorthodox techniques.

Right there, the Inspector and the Constable disobeyed the advice that the Inspector initially offered the Constable, "Don't brood on it, just clear up the mess." Instead of keeping himself emotionally disengaged from the hideous murders, the Constable bore on his inexperienced shoulders the weight of solving the crime.

While terror was the young Constable's initial reaction to the gruesome murders, he was soon overwhelmed with longing to "figure out" Christie's mind. For the Constable, this involved donning the victim's body and re-enacting how Christie murdered the young prostitute. For the serial killer, a notorious misogynist who railed against women as "stupid bitches," there was no incongruity in picking up a prostitute. Women were "bacon slicers" who stole the manhood of the men they slept with.

As Christie pretended to be a constable, the real Constable watched in horror while he invited her into his house. Getting a cup of tea only for himself, the murderer then approached the woman with all his pent-up sexual disappointment. The Constable, wearing a plastic doll worn around his neck by a leather belt, approached Christie. Then, Christie began to furiously kiss the woman, while the Constable's hands moved the doll's hands.

The audience could not turn away from this disturbing threesome. As suddenly as it had begun, Christie ended the prostitute's life with a rubber cord. It was only after death that the serial killer showed any interest in having intercourse with the woman. Mounting the plastic doll, which still lay on top of the Constable, Christie had his way with her. The tension, which had been intensifying since the masturbation scene, finally broke. The Constable pushed Christie off him in a demented rage, cursing the murderer for taking his fantasies too far. As logic escaped the young officer, he strangled the last breath out of Christie. The Inspector admired his handiwork, telling the Constable, "You gotta keep love in bounds."

Director senior Morgan Dowsett should be commended for staging Christie in Love. While the self-gratification scene proved powerful, it was his depiction of the awkwardness of human interaction that overwhelmed. Only by shouting vulgar limericks could the Inspector and Constable overcome their trepidation at digging up human bodies. The only way John Reginald Christie would share his story was through the gruesome re-enactment of the murders, with the Constable donning the victim's body. Similarly, only by leaving the Little Theater does one begin to ponder the atrocities of Christie in Love.

Digging for Bodies: Senior Ben Esner plays the Constable in the psychotic thriller about a serial killer. (photo by Wes Steele)