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The act of washing clothes
is a domesticated chore that can easily be classified as a mundane part of a
person’s lifestyle. But, if we really
examine  the steps we take to wash an article of clothing – the scrubbing we
might administer, the soap we use, the act of transforming something soiled
into something clean - perhaps the act of washing clothes is so much more than
we give it credit for. I must admit, I
never really put any profound thought towards “doing the laundry” until this
past Saturday when I saw Deborah Brevroot’s play, The Women of Lockerbie, at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in
Topanga. Brevroot’s play transposes the
mundane act of washing clothes into a symbolic, cathartic gesture that brings a
sense of closure to the scarred, traumatized characters of this epic,
“Greek-like,” tragedy.
On Wednesday, December 21,
1988, Pan Am Flight 103 departed from London’s Heathrow Airport on route to JFK
International Airport in New York. The
Boeing 747-121 aircraft was on schedule, caring 243 passengers on board as well
as 16 crew members. Without warning, a
terrorist bomb lead to the death of every single passenger and crew member on
board. Additionally, the plane crashed
in the small town of Lockerbie, located on the Dumfries and Galloway region of
south-western Scotland, and 11 Lockerbie residents were killed. Shocking nations all over the world, the incident
became known as the “Lockerbie bombing” of 1988. After viewing a television documentary about
the aftermath of the Lockerbie crash, Brevroot was inspired to write a play
based on the true accounts of the Scottish women that organized a “laundry project”
to scrub 11,000 articles of clothing from the plane crash. Brevroot said that these women did this
“because they had witnessed evil and felt an  emotional need and a moral
responsibility to find some way to ‘get love out of it.’” Additionally, Brevroot also stated that “What
was most surprising and moving […] was that despite the profound horror at the
center of these women’s stories, [she] found them to be oddly uplifting.”
The Women of Lockerbie centers on a mother from New Jersey, Madeline Livingston,
and her husband, Bill Livingston. Roaming the hills of Lockerbie Scotland, Madeline
helplessly looks for her son's remains which were lost in the 1988 bombing of
Pan Am flight 103. Overwhelmed by grief
and the inability to move on, Bill tries desperately to persuade his wife to
come to grips with reality and let go of her grief. In the midst of desperately tryingto bring his wife
home, Bill meets the women of Lockerbie who are fighting the U.S. Government to
obtain the clothing of the victims found in the Lockerbie crash. While Madeline is consumed by her grief, the
women of Lockerbie are determined to combat their sorrows by washing the
clothes of the dead and returning them to the bereaved families.
At times, the overall subject
matter of this play can be difficult to digest.
For those who draw the parallel between the horrific events associated
with 9/11, the material is almost too close to home. As I witnessed, several audience members found
themselves sobbing uncontrollably during several moments in the play. The projection of fear, grief, and anger all
compounded by a thousand unanswered questions; The Women of Lockerbie strikes at the very core of  hate and
love. As the character, Olive Allison –
a Scottish woman with fire and heart, striving to obtain closure from the loss
of her husband and daughter – states, “Hatred is love that has been
injured. If you have hatred, you have
love.”
Not only is the dramatic
content of this play spot on, but the performances of the overall cast were
terrific. From the charming chorus that
welcomed the audience with Scottish folk songs to the gut wrenching monologues
delivered by Susan Angelo (Madeline Livingston), Ellen Geer (Olive Allison),
and Blake Edwards (George Jones), the performances of this piece were
consistent and quite believable.
However, I must admit that I did form a slight favoritism for actress, Katherine
Griffith. Griffith brought to life a comical,
witty, cleaning lady named Hattie.
From the moment Ms. Griffith appears on the stage confessing in a deep
Scottish accent, “You grabbed your mop but forgot to grab your coat!” the
tragic content of the play seems to be temporarily alleviated. It is Ms. Griffith’s performance that makes
Hattie so likeable, resonating an underlying sense of hope. While several performances are certainly worth
high merit, Ms. Griffith’s performance will stick with you long after you have
left the theater.
 Lastly, one really can’t go
wrong seeing a play at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. From the moment you follow the path down to
the small box office, you are suddenly transformed to another time, another
place, another world. A Shakespeare sign
here, a wooden post there, the abundant trees, lush landscape, and tiny cottage
like structures that form a pathway down to an outdoor theater reminiscent of
the Globe in London. Guests might
remark, “Have I time traveled to 1599?
Where is Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlin’s Men?” It is a sight to behold and a perfect spot
for The Women of Lockerbie.
The Women of Lockerbie will be playing at the Will Geer Theatricum
Botanicum (1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA, 90290) until September
29th. Tickets are on sale now, from $20
- $30. For more information or to
reserve your tickets today, check out www.theatricum.com.
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