Who Killed Marilyn? by Sharleen Cooper Cohen promises a fresh look at the circumstances surrounding Marilyn Monroe’s death. It also claims to tackle the perhaps more intriguing question: who was Marilyn? Instead, it serves up a standard stew of conspiracy theories, from the Kennedys and the Mafia to the murky machinations of the American establishment, along with some familiar pop psychology. Like many biographical dramas, it falls into the trap of telling rather than showing, awkwardly introducing events and characters in a way that feels forced rather than organic. Here the narrator is the dead Marilyn herself, played by Pixie Lott, who purports to reveal the woman behind the myth. Unfortunately, there is little revelation. Lott captures Monroe’s familiar voice, mannerisms and cinematic gestures, but the performance rarely escapes the caricature. It might have been far more intriguing to have this posthumous Marilyn deliberately distinguish herself from the screen persona she created. Instead, this supposedly authentic Marilyn behaves much like the person we have seen on film. As with the murder plot, the biographical material offers nothing new: the abused child, the insecure woman and the ambitious actress desperate to be taken seriously. It is a well-worn road. The missed opportunities multiply. The complex figures who surrounded Monroe are drawn in broad strokes. Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller remain two-dimensional, and mobster Sam Giancana is little more than a cartoon villain. Similarly simplified is Joseph Kennedy, father of Monroe’s lovers, John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, while the two sons and their relationships with the star feel only sketched in. Any one of her liaisons with these powerful men could have provided the material for a fascinating drama. Instead, these rich and complicated entanglements seem pushed aside in favour of the murder mystery. Most frustratingly, the play never properly explores the contradictions at the heart of Monroe’s story. She was both exploiter and exploited, victim and manipulator, commodity and creator. Even when the play touches on these complexities, it lacks psychological depth. The performances, too, struggle to make much impression, although the actors have been given little substantial material with which to work. Lines are generally delivered in a clipped monotone, with volume substituted for emotional intensity. It is a production that plods rather than propels, piling speculation upon speculation as it moves towards its supposed revelation. Who Killed Marilyn? sets out to answer two questions: the mystery of how Marilyn Monroe died and the enigma of who she really was. Unfortunately, it fails on both counts. We leave the theatre with a theory about the circumstances of her death, but no greater insight into the woman behind the legend.
Rated: ★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Pamela Raith
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