Welcome to the town of Duhig Gardens, a town that has been abandoned by the law. It is here on this small patch of grass at The University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus that we meet the inhabitants of Duhig Gardens – Mary Fitzgerald (Stephanie Dwyer), the gunslinging vigilante, Colin the Coyote (Nicolas Angelosanto), the accused, Tammy (Rosie Anderson), the innkeeper, and Mr Gallagher (Chris Slater), the defender.

Spurred on by her connections to a missing Marshal, Mary doggedly hunts down Colin, a travelling musician, whom she believes is responsible for the bloody murder of Betty-Lou. Holding him at gunpoint, she hears evidence from her key witness Tammy while only Mr Gallagher comes to Colin’s defence demanding that we hear both sides of the story. It is then that Tammy proposes a public vote, encouraging the townsfolk, the audience, to determine the man’s fate. Will he die or will he go free? While this is not the first time audience voting has been used to determine which of a list of pre-determined endings the night’s proceedings will conclude with, it fits well with this piece. The playwrights Lonnie Gilroy and Senaai Chapple frame both Colin’s and Mary’s backstories well providing the audience with much to mull over as they decide while avoiding sentimentality and leaving you questioning what is true.

“If it were a woman you would give them the benefit of the doubt”

Mr Gallagher, Mary and the Murderer

From the moment Angelosanto’s Colin comes bursting onto the stage as he flees from capture by Mary, his energy is infectious, and he doesn’t let up – a noble feat for a performer who is effectively tied to a pole for the majority of the performance. While Colin feels well-articulated and fully formed, there are moments where Dwyer as Mary feels forced and perhaps caricatured with her character’s strength seeming to be “put on”. Like her character however, she redeems herself when she recounts her Mary’s backstory and we see the truth behind the bravado. All performers handled the Southern American accents well and gave strong performances.

Overall the production has been well staged by director Lonnie Gilroy who makes good use of the unique space where an existing fixed light pole acts as the centrepiece. I also very much appreciated the light touches of theming including the refreshment station (Tammy’s Saloon) and the “Welcome to Duhig Gardens” sign which helped establish the world. Amplification of the actors may not have been necessary given the natural acoustics of the location and when audio dropped out it was distracting.

The annual Anywhere Festival began in Brisbane as a way to assist independent theatre producers to get their work up. By removing the costs associated with hiring traditional (and non-traditional) performance spaces, Anywhere brings together all manner of groups as part of their festival. For the last couple of years The University of Queensland has partnered with Anywhere to bring live theatre to the grounds of their St Lucia campus and 2019 is no exception.

The reviewer attended the 16 May 7.15pm performance of Mary and the Murderer at Duhig Gardens, The University of Queensland St Lucia campus.

Mary and the Murderer plays 15, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24 May 2019 at 7.15pm at Duhig Gardens, The University of Queensland St Lucia campus as part of Anywhere Festival and UQ Theatre Festival.