The UofSC Department of Theatre and Dance will present The Women of Lockerbie, a drama by
Deborah Brevoort inspired by the tragic 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, this weekend, Nov. 20-23 at the Lab Theatre. Senior Theatre major Grace
Ann Roberts is directing the production.
Show times are 8pm nightly. Tickets are $5, and available only at the door. The Lab Theatre is located at 1400 Wheat St., in the Booker T. Washington Building.
Inspired by a true story, The Women of Lockerbie explores how love can win over hate, even in the face of unspeakable tragedy. With poetic language presented in a style that evokes classic Greek tragedy, playwright
Deborah Brevoort tells the story of a mother from New Jersey who travels to Scotland in search of her son's remains after the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The terrorist action over the town of Lockerbie resulted in the deaths of 239 passengers and crew, as well as 11 people on the ground. While in the hills of Lockerbie, the grieving mother encounters a group of local women attempting to foster healing -- in spite of US government regulations -- by washing the clothes of the dead and returning them to mourning families.
First time director Roberts was drawn to staging the script because of her interest in learning more about the 26-year-old tragedy. "I was fascinated with this terrorist attack that had occurred that I had never heard about or learned about in school," says Roberts. "There are so many conspiracy theories surrounding the flight crash and the politics behind it is far more extensive than I could have imagined. I really want to take time with my actors so that they can understand the historical context of it all."
Roberts received a unique opportunity to meet with Brevoort when the playwright came to SC for a premiere production of her latest play, The Velvet Weapon, at Columbia's Trustus Theatre, in August.
"She's just so smart and engaging," says Roberts. "I had a lot of questions for her about how I can walk my actors in a more expressionistic path in telling the story, something more abstract. We also talked a lot about how this is a tragedy and because the characters are grieving it can very quickly become -- the phrase she used was 'the snotty nose of grief.' Lockerbie shows there are different ways to grieve and come out of grieving."
Appearing in the production are undergraduate theatre majors Jamie Boller, Matt Couch,
John Floyd, Elizabeth Houck, Abigail McNeely,
Brooke Smith, and Kelsea Woods. With the assistance of theatre students Megan Branham and Sallie Sargent, Roberts is constructing innovative scenic and lighting elements to create an appropriately abstract environment for Brevoort's script, while memorializing the victims of the plane crash. Theatre major Courtney Bickley is stage manager for the production.
"It's really easy to look around in the news and just sink in sadness and grief," reflects Roberts. "Maybe you don't have an immediate personal connection to the war on terror, but it's scary and very easy to lose hope. The Women of Lockerbie is ultimately about finding love in the face of hate. And who doesn't need that story? When do we not need to be reminded of that, especially now?"
For more information on The Women of Lockerbie or the theatre program at the University of South Carolina, contact
Kevin Bush by phone at 803-777-9353 or via email at bushk@mailbox.sc.edu.
Pictured: Senior Theatre major Jamie Boller as Olive, a Scottish woman trying to salvage the clothing of the victims of a terrorist act. Photo by Grace Ann Roberts.
