EDINBURGH 2019: DROWNING Q&A

BWW catches up with the team behind Drowning to chat about bringing the play to the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Drowning.

Drowning is based on the true story of four Austrian nurses who were accused of murdering 49 patients in their beds in the late 1980s. After exhuming bodies, detectives found the count was closer to 200 in a 6-year killing spree garnering them the title 'the Lainz Angels of Death'. Working in a state facility, Lainz Hospital, these four women each justified the right to end a patient's life by pouring water down their throats, resulting in what could have been a sixty-second to an hour-long death. Terrifying. What drives a person in such a profession as nursing to cause such harm repeatedly. And in a group of four. Was it friendship? Was it murder? Or as they claimed it, mercy? But mercy for who?

How did Carrie-Ann Moss get involved?

Carrie-Anne is an iconic female in her own right. She was drawn to the story and wanted to be a part of it and support the vision. We were so fortunate to have her guidance along with Steven Roy as our director to create a show that challenges stereotypes and our human moral code.

Why does it seem like the perfect time to tell this story?

Well, there has been a continual upsurge in true crime stories over the past few years. I don't think it's so much as it being the perfect time, but more of our growth as a species to be not only grossly fascinated with the gory details of these crimes, but the people behind them. Who they were? What drove them to do what they did? Were they born bad? Or did life experience make them bad?

Who would you recommend comes to see it?

This story definitely explores a darker side of our human nature, but one we all possess. Whether or not we choose to act on it. Given the subject matter we advise that children under the age of 14 not attend. Yet beyond on that, I think this is a piece for everyone. The aim in exploring these four women and their histories and personalities was to humanize them for the audience. It's so easy to label people and situations that make us fearful. To wrap it up in a nice little box with a tag: Murderer. Psychopath. Killer. It's easier for our brains to understand it that way. It makes us feel safe.

What do you hope audiences take away from it?

I hope audiences leave with a sense of humanizing even the darkness in the most disturbed people. To not simply jump to a name or conclusion. To take pause, to hear these women. I'm not asking for sympathy or even empathy. Simply the space to hear another human being. I think what shocks audiences the most is that idea that they resonate with at least one of the characters, and in doing so... what does that make them?

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/drowning

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