The State vs John Hayes[author-post-rating] (3/5)

We in the UK have always had a strange fascination with Death Row. The idea of capital punishment is so alien to us that its presentation seems gloriously out-of-bounds. This is partly the reason The State vs John Hayes manages to capture its audience, tempting them with a story about those waiting to die. It manages to hold them, however, by contemplating gender and its importance in our understanding of the self.

Lucy Roslyn’s monologue is the story of a woman awaiting death after being convicted for murder. Elyese Dukie speaks directly to us, attempting to get things straight in her mind as she recounts the narrative. A plethora of confusing and contradictory pronouns early on suggest this isn’t a simple case, and throughout the monologue she struggles with a pain in her chest as something battles to get out.

Directed by Richard Warren, this still production is one of compassion and subtlety, so that it is only towards the end that we truly realise what is happening. The mysterious John Hayes floats in and out of our sight, and just when we think we’ve pinned down who he is the man has vanished again. A bed, a few metal tiles and a pair of boots form Dukie’s world – in the months before death, this is all she has.

Roslyn performs the text herself in a performance of confidence and reflection. An androgynous figure, she flits between the male and female characters in her story with ease and allows both ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ traits to emerge as this figure struggles with her fluid gender in a world which is very definite about gender norms. She engages with this small audience well, though the terms for her engagement are never quite set-up, meaning it’s difficult to understand our role.

The piece’s title embodies its argument. On one hand, The State vs John Hayes means what it says, as one ‘man’ fights against his government. But its second meaning is more interesting, as this character’s state of being is put in opposition with the elusive John Hayes. Both dialectics could go deeper, and though the piece features a performance of clarity, it doesn’t do quite enough to explore the themes it raises.

The State vs John Hayes is at C nova until 26 August. For more information and tickets visit the Edinburgh Fringe Festival website.