ALEX MCCUAIG | MEDICINE HAT NEWS
Though reviews for the play about the 2006 triple murder of a Medicine Hat family have been positive, response to the production's Esplanade show this Saturday have been lukewarm.
Castle in the Sky, a docu-play based on interviews with those close to the victims as well as the then 12-yearold and 23-year-old murderers, aims to show a different side of the story. The News asked several Hatters what they thought of the play coming to the city garnering mixed opinions.
"It's kind of hard to imagine someone my age doing something like that. It sounds wrong." said 19-year-old Katrina Kurtz.
"(The play) could be interesting but once you hear everybody talking about it, it's kind of disgusting." Sterling Bell didn't live in the city in 2006 but he did follow the story while living in his home community in southern Nova Scotia.
"Some people don't want to hear about it - it would bring back memories," he said.
"But I would probably see it. I couldn't say I wouldn't want to see it." Jesse Florkowski said he remembers when the murders happened and how crazy the city became during those days.
But he's not too interested in the play coming to the city.
"They're making money off something terrible," he said.
Paul Heywood, Esplanade Theatre director, said ticket sales have been lukewarm to the play but isn't making any judgments on the merits of the production.
"As a theatre director I'm not here to impose my values on what happens on the stage," he said.
"Personally, it's probably a useful way of provoking discussion on this senseless act."
Castle in the Sky plays one show at the Esplanade Saturday at 7:30 p.m.