Bit of everything in criminal

The not-for-profit community theatre will build on the success of its first two productions with musical The Criminal Went That Way, authored by Curtin University creative writing student Peter Chikritzhs.

Director, Ferndale resident Lance Magnus, said the production introduced jaded local cop The Captain.

‘The town has no crime to speak of and people think he just sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong,’ he said.

In a desperate effort to prove his relevance, The Captain decides to fake a murder and let local petty thief The Criminal take the fall.

The victim soon becomes the town’s most beloved inhabitant, someone who tirelessly worked for charity and was Citizen of the Year ” despite the small detail that the person never existed in the first place.

Magnus said despite the story’s archetypal characters and farcical bent, it would stir audience members’ hearts, especially in The Criminal’s solo number, simply titled The Criminal.

As she sings, the audience watches The Captain plotting how he will interrogate her.

‘As we realise who she is and where she has come from, The Captain is also revealed,’ Magnus said.

‘It’s slow, vulnerable, open ” all the masks are off and you see real people.’

Magnus said the show was rife with hidden stories for the audience to spot.

‘There’s a bit of light and a bit of darkness in every character, good or bad,’ he said.

‘It’s a great script and a good story.

‘We’ve got some great musical numbers ‘