''Lorilei: A Meditation on Loss'' is a 2003 play by Tom Wright and Nicholas Harrington, based on a

capital murder Capital murder refers to a category of murder in some parts of the US for which the perpetrator is eligible for the death penalty. In its original sense, capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, Northern Irela ...

trial in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, United States.

Theme

The play tells the true story of Lorilei Guillory, whose six-year-old son, Jeremy, was murdered in 1992 in

Iowa, Louisiana Iowa () is a town in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,436 in 2020. It is part of the Lake Charles, Louisiana, Lake Charles Lake Charles metropolitan area, metropolitan statistical area. ...

, by a man with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. During the second trial of the man convicted of the crime, Ricky Langley, Guillory testified for the defendant, stating her opinion that he was mentally ill at the time of the offence and should not be sentenced to die. The retrial ended in a verdict of

diminished capacity In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental fun ...

, rather than the original

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

. A

solo performance A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show, one-woman show, or one-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieti ...

, the play is presented as a narrative constructed from the transcripts of the trial. It explores Guillory's struggle with the loss of her young child but also her compassion for the man who killed him.

Staging and reception

First staged in 2003 in Australia, the play has been presented around the world including at the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in 2005. Reviewing the 2005 London staging at The Old Red Lion, ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

'' critic Michael Billington gave the play four stars out of five, calling it an "extraordinary evening" and explaining that, after watching the play and listening to an after-show discussion, "one comes to understand how it is possible for mercy to triumph over revenge." An adaptation for radio by

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

won the 2007 Sony Radio Award for Drama. In 2014, the Justice Project Pakistan commissioned an

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

translation of the play. A company toured Pakistan presenting the English and Urdu versions on alternating dates. ''

The News International ''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/ Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London th ...

'' praised actor

Nimra Bucha Nimra Bucha () is a Pakistani actress who has appeared in a variety of TV serials, films, web-series and has also worked in theatre. She played the role of Saadat Hassan Manto's muse in Sarmad Khoosat's ''Manto (2015 film), Manto'' which earne ...

for her performance in English and described the story as deliberately slow-paced but "instantly gripping". Reviewing

Sania Saeed Sania Saeed (born 28 August 1972) is a Pakistani actress and television host who works mainly in television and theatre. Saeed is the recipient of numerous accolades including one PTV Awards, four Hum Awards and four Lux Style Awards. She f ...

's performance of the Urdu version, ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

'' said she showed "the kind of emotional investment in the script which makes art reflect life".

References

{{reflist 2003 plays 2007 audio plays Murder in Louisiana Capital punishment in Louisiana Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Plays based on real people Plays for one performer 2000s Australian plays Urdu-language plays Translations into Urdu Works about capital punishment Plays set in Louisiana