Kfir Lapid-Mashall is an artist-scholar, whose research-led practice urges alternative mechanisms of truth-seeking and justice-doing. Kfir is a doctoral researcher at the University of Glasgow, pursuing a cross-disciplinary project establishing the original dramaturgy of Judicial Theatre. He currently serves as Reviews Editor of Performance Research academic journal.
The Trial of William Merrilees took place at the University of Glasgow’s James Arnott Theatre on Thursday, 4thApril 2024. Open to the public, the event invited its audience to act as jury in a one-night-only performance of Judicial Theatre.
Set against global actions aimed at policing queer culture and limiting its expressions, this project sought to investigate the motivations behind them. To that end, the performance resurrected Scottish police detective William Merrilees (1898-1984) and accused him of Misconduct in Public Office for his alleged abuse of power in his persecution of queer men in 1930s Scotland. The subject of the performance was inspired by, and relied upon a collaboration with, Dr Jeff Meek from the University’s School of Social and Political Sciences. In his book Queer Trades, Sex and Society: Male Prostitution and the War on Homosexuality in Interwar Scotland (2023) he investigated the police activities and legal cases that are at the core of this trial. In addition to his involvement in the project’s development process, Dr Meek performed in the event as the court’s expert witness.
Assuming the roles of the attorneys, the accused, and one of the queer men he persecuted, a diverse group of 9 students – UGs, masters, and PGRs – were recruited from Theatre Studies, Film, Text Studies, Urban Studies and Law. They engaged in an intensive preparation process over the course of 3 weeks, during which they learned the legal and historical context of the case, as well as trained in dealing with the evidence, delivering compelling opening and closing statements, and constructing effective direct- and cross-examinations for the witnesses.
During the performance, the audience was presented with the evidence, were invited to ask questions of the witnesses (with staggering 76 questions submitted), and then voted on the verdict (with 85 votes counted). Their participation resulted in a Guilty verdict by a small margin (55% Guilty, 45% Not Guilty), an overwhelming testament to the complexity of the case and the audience’s critical engagement with it. By directing the performers’ speeches to the audience, and by directly asking the audience to assume an active and essential role in the challenging task of deciding the fate of a person – be the final verdict as it may – this production empowered its audience to transcend preconceived boundaries of their own backgrounds. In the process of a communal judgement, a performance experiment in social justice was conducted, creating a theatre that encourages and endures complex conflictual dialogue.
This event would not be possible without the support of Thinking Culture, championed by Dr Kevin Leomo. The professionalism, kindness, and dedication to the mission of promoting creative endeavours in Glasgow were felt at every stage of this collaboration, with assistance and guidance offered at every chance with generosity, an open mind, and an open heart.
