The Laramie Project – The Cornerhouse

It’s been 27 years since the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. His death sparked a media frenzy and led to candlelit vigils in cities across the world. For anyone unfamiliar with the story, Shepard was a gay, American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die, while tied to a fence near Laramie on October 6,1998. It’s easy to forget that this homophobic attack also created an instant ‘culture war.  There were abusive letters sent to the hospital which treated Shepard and protestors descended on the young man’s funeral carrying placards which declared that ‘God Hates Fags’.

Home Office figures published last month (9 October 2025) show in the year ending March 2025 there were a total of 115,990 hate crime offences, up from 113,166 the previous year, which marks a two per cent increase. Anecdotally, most LGBT people will tell you that they feel less safe on the street and on public transport than they did five or ten years ago. This atmosphere of aggression and intolerance is affecting all minority communities, not just drag queens who no longer hop; on a bus to get to a gig. It’s definitely less fun, and potentially more dangerous on the UK’s streets if you look or sound different.

The intolerance and entitled hostility is arguably much worse in the USA, but few places seem safe from the regressive onslaught. I’ve been going to Ibiza for 30 years, but this year saw my first encounter with homophobia on the island. A witness to this frightening encounter offered no support or kindness, but instead, added their own litany of foul-mouthed hatred, directed at me, not the perpetrator.

The Laramie Project, written by Moisés Kaufman is a powerful work of verbatim documentary theatre that’s been produced worldwide in the years since its premiere in 2000. It’s a narrative collage honed from hundreds of interviews conducted by the Tectonic Theater Project. The play uses accounts from residents of the town, company members’ journal entries, and published news reports. 

The cornerHOUSE is a very cute, hugely inspiring community arts centre for the people of Tolworth, Surbiton and the surrounding areas. It’s tucked away down a quiet residential street and is a gem of a venue that requires some local wisdom and deep digging to unearth. It’s a converted church hall, run entirely by volunteers and exists thanks to local parish churches who charge peppercorn rent. This production of The Laramie Project, staged by Cellar Door Theatre Company is supporting the Kingston LGBT+ Forum and a portion of ticket sales will be donated to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Everyone involved in this production deserves a massive round of applause, from the excellent ensemble cast to the lovely volunteer bar staff at the CornerHOUSE. While the message of this play is needed now more than ever, it’s a very bold move putting this show on in a community theatre in the suburbs. Thankfully, they delivered a highly moving, extremely engaging and artistically successful show. With a shoestring budget and little but goodwill, enthusiasm and talent, Cellar Door Theatre Company brought Wyoming to Surrey and would make Matthew Shepard proud.

All the performers have to play a range of characters, and it can be a challenge to distinguish one from another. Some of the cast were better skilled at this than others, but this is an ensemble show and the company pulled it off with aplomb. Among other characters, Laura Shipler Chico played police officer Reggie Fluty, the first responder at the scene of Shepard’s attack. She has undeniable stage presence, and when Fluty recalls that Shepard’s head was entirely covered in blood aside from the parts of his face where tears had tracked through the gore, it had such power that my mind went blank for the next few minutes. Dylan Levien (Stephen Belber, Matt Galloway, Matt Galloway) proved a compelling watch, especially when playing Jonas Slonaker, a gay man who lived in Laramie and has a withering and careworn perspective on the whole affair, especially with regards to the lack of change to legislation. Towards the end of the play, Aimee Wallis brought a tear to the eye, while playing Denis Shepard, Matthew’s father, when he delivers a statement at the trial of his son’s murderers.

Credit to Director Brittany Rex for juggling all the characters, yet delivering each with clarity. There’s a lot to choreograph and Rex made excellent use of the space. James Denny’s Lighting and Video Design was simple, unobtrusive but extremely effective.

Seeing this production in Kingston-Upon-Thames proved a profound experience. My teenage years in this town during the ‘80s were not entirely happy. I was bullied at school and was eventually forced to leave the home due to threats of homophobic violence. This led to a period of homelessness, depression and self-harm. To see this particular show in the place which offered little sanctuary during my youth delivered a hard-hitting a ray of hope in undeniably dark times.

Reviewer: Stewart Who?

Reviewed: 1st November 2025
North West End UK Rating: