The concept of DryWrite’s “Guilty” is thus – their writers have been given a newspaper headline of a real crime that has been committed and each writer creates a piece trying to justify that crime from the criminal’s viewpoint. We know the legal powers that be have already condemned the criminal, but what about humanity? Are they ready to forgive them? ‘Humanity’ in this case, is represented by the good people of the Latitude theatre audience who shout out their decision at the end of each play.

The headlines are both intriguing and gruesome at the same time – A baker stabs a woman 99 times, A man concocts a killer pill and sells it in nightclubs, Foetus thief gets life sentence –and they all end with the same question. Guilty or not guilty?

The writers have developed some complex back stories to explain their news stories and they were performed with much gusto by each actor. Every voice was real and not contrived and I found myself trying to pre-empt where the stories were going to go but each time I was mistaken. The story of the foetus thief was particularly striking with emotional twists and turns and a very powerful and moving tale at the centre of it all.

It was great to see such a large crowd turnout late on a Friday night and what an involved crowd we were. We were all swept up in the drama and the weight of having such a moral and ethical decision on our shoulders and we lapped it up. Guilty I say!


Lesley Pinder