It was creepy enough when Clarice Starling confronted Hannibal Lecter from outside his cell in Silence of the Lambs. Now, director Matt Clarke hopes to not only emulate the same creepy fascination of that scene with a live audience, but toy with their expectations as well with Love is for Superbeasts at this year's Fringe Festival.
Revolving around two serial killers in love with each other, the piece is a portrayal of how they interact with each other, and as a result, provide clues about their murderous psyches. The audience as well also takes a passive role in the piece, according to Clarke, as “media academic experts viewing from behind bullet proof glass.” Thus, it also gives these two individuals the means to directly “mess with them” throughout the show.
The performance takes inspiration from popular contemporary crime shows such as Dexter, The Fall, and the HBO documentary series The Jinx. This is not necessarily to reflect the popular portrayals of killers in these shows, but rather to shoot down some of the myths instituted by them. This is especially since it is also written and acted by Millie Mumford, who has a degree in forensic biopsychology. Therefore, Clarke and co. hope to bring to both an authentic and documentary style feel to the piece.
With the combination of authenticity and creativity, audiences can hopefully expect a tense and macabre on-stage character study into what makes murderers.