EDINBURGH 2019: Review: BIBLE JOHN, Pleasance

Bible John is a play about the infamous Barrowland murderer who killed three women in the 1960's at the Glasgow dancehall.

There's a huge trend in true crime documentaries and podcasts and it is typically women to tend to be fans of them. In Bible John, a group of four colleagues discover that they're all obsessed with these podcasts and form a Tuesday morning office routine of listening to the latest episode together. The women come up with theories about the identity of Testament-quoting serial killer who was never caught.

What made Bible John really stand out for me was the care and respect it showed for the murder victims. The women are referred to by name with attention drawn to their families who loved them and the lives that they lived.

Caitlin McEwan who is the writer of the show and one of the performers delivers the most chilling monologue in the play. She rages that these women were people and not a puzzle to be solved like Sudoku. It's a powerful piece and emphasises that these women lost their lives because they just wanted to dance.

I don't think it's a spoiler to say that this play doesn't solve the case. Bible John was never caught and there hasn't been any justice for the victims so it would have been in bad taste to have a nice neat ending. What we're left with is a thrilling and thought-provoking piece of theatre that examines the current true crime obsession.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/bible-john

Photo credit: Katie Edwards

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