Russell Williams confessed to two first-degree murders in 2010 after an intense interrogation conducted by OPP Detective Jim Smyth.
BELLEVILLE – News of an upcoming play based on the police interrogation of notorious serial rapist and murderer Russell Williams sparked controversy this week among Loyalist College students.
“It’s kind of disgusting,” says student Anna Kennedy.
Williams, the former commander in chief at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to the first-degree murders of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, and Belleville resident Jessica Lloyd, 27.
One Little Goat Theatre in Toronto will be premiering the play, “Smyth/Williams”. It re-enacts the intense interrogation process between Ontario Provincial Police Detective Sgt. Jim Smyth and Williams.
“I would never go see the play,” Kennedy said, “I think the victims are now being exploited.”
Student Wayne Fraser said he would absolutely not go and see the play. “It’s a disgrace,” he said.
Fraser went on to talk about how he attended Centennial High School, the same school where the mother of victim Jessica Lloyd worked. He said it was three years before she came back to work again. “This play is just going to unearth a lot of emotions.”
Fraser also said he would probably boycott the play.
“Having a play about a sadistic killer, to the point where he admitted his guilt, where he showed no remorse whatsoever…you just don’t have plays about killers.”
On the other hand, some students believe the play is a good idea. Criminal justice studies student Stacey Clemmer said she understands it contains sensitive material, but would go and see the performance.
“We learn about interrogations and things like that. Wanting to be future law enforcement I think it’s a good idea to share it.” Clemmer says. “It’s a different approach.”
The director of the play, Adam Seelig, declined to speak with QNet News. In an email, the theatre’s publicist said that the company is not looking to profit from the production, nor to inflame the community that was most affected by the events.
In a statement to the Canadian Press, Seelig said that his idea of turning the intense interrogation into a play came after noticing ‘a recent urgency’ around the issue of violence against women, particularly against women in the military.
In his director’s note he states:
The play will premiere in Toronto with an all-female cast on March 3 and run until March 12.
Print This Post
