Viva Brighton Issue #58 December 2017
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PERFORMANCE<br />
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Road to Huntsville<br />
Dead man S.W.A.L.K.I.N.G.<br />
Stephanie Ridings’<br />
play The Road to<br />
Huntsville examines<br />
the unexpected romantic<br />
entanglements<br />
between death row<br />
inmates in Texas and<br />
their correspondents<br />
on the outside.<br />
I’m fascinated with<br />
prison documentaries,<br />
specifically<br />
in America, where<br />
women write to men on death row. It’s hard to<br />
understand what’s in it for everyone – what they’re<br />
getting – or think they’re getting – out of it. For<br />
the person who’s incarcerated, it’s a lifeline to<br />
the outside world. But when it tips over into the<br />
romantic stuff – when the couple gets married, but<br />
they’re never going to see or touch each other – I<br />
just didn’t understand what that love was. The Road<br />
to Huntsville explores a version of me – a writer<br />
doing research on these relationships – who gets<br />
in a bit too deep. It’s concentrated on prisons<br />
in Livingston and Huntsville in Texas, as they<br />
generally execute the most people per year. Here,<br />
all visits are done through bulletproof glass – with<br />
no physical contact.<br />
It’s easy to be judgmental and say the women<br />
are damaged and the men inside are just out<br />
for money. But you can’t just write them off as<br />
spinster cat ladies; it’s so much more complicated<br />
than that. They’re from all walks of life, from all<br />
social backgrounds, sometimes they’re even married.<br />
Some just write to be a friend – or write to<br />
women – and it doesn’t always become romantic.<br />
Sometimes, though, the women are damaged and<br />
this is a safe relationship for them; they can turn<br />
this man into a fantasy because he’s not at home<br />
leaving his underwear<br />
lying about or not<br />
washing the dishes<br />
– he’s a mythical<br />
creature.<br />
The clandestine nature<br />
of the romance<br />
definitely plays a<br />
part in its appeal<br />
and letter-writing<br />
makes it feel like a<br />
proper old-fashioned<br />
courtship. There’s also<br />
the feeling of being in love, with this insurmountable<br />
thing between you, keeping you from being<br />
together. All of this heightens the relationship.<br />
Putting myself into Texan culture was really<br />
important in creating The Road to Huntsville,<br />
because that world is just so foreign to me.<br />
The team and I stood outside with protesters to<br />
see how the town reacts when there’s an execution<br />
on; we weren’t welcome at all! Most people don’t<br />
even realise it’s happening – they just drive past,<br />
like it’s a normal day. That part of Texas is quite<br />
right wing; many are pro capital punishment.<br />
With the death penalty, there don’t seem to<br />
be any winners; the government say they do it<br />
to give the victims’ families closure, but from<br />
what I’ve seen and read, nobody gets much out of<br />
the situation.<br />
I’m currently researching a show we’re calling<br />
The Fear of Fear – looking at the use of fear<br />
to control and manipulate people for personal<br />
gain. You know, like the President! To challenge<br />
my own fears, I went caving. I was against it from<br />
the start, so, as a writer, I was like, ‘I think we’re<br />
going to have to do it’. It was horrific!<br />
As told to Amy Holtz<br />
The Marlborough, 6th <strong>December</strong>, 7.30pm<br />
Photo by Graeme Braidwood<br />
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