←Recommendations of The Murder Play with Jack & Melissa

How can a play manage to be quirky AND disturbing, lighthearted AND deeply moving, so weird AND so grounded all at the same time. McLachlan manages that in this story about the need for connection. Two people meet under insanely unusual circumstances: Melissa follows her boyfriend to Jack's cabin where, unbeknownst to Melissa her boyfriend thinks he's meeting an underage girl, and unbeknownst to him Jack is waiting to kill him. Somehow the darkest meet-cute turns into a wholesome friendship.

Meet Jack, your new favorite serial killer. He's actually a pretty nice guy. A hilarious play about two lonely people and a couple of chopped up bodies.

This play is an irreverent, hilarious, whiplash-inducing mix of horrific and wholesome that had me grinning from ear to ear throughout! It's full of brilliantly articulated moments of physical comedy that would make for wonderful theatre. I really appreciated how much exposition characters imparted with just a few spare, simple lines - this is a writer who knows when to be subtle vs make a bold, bloody stroke! Truly, this piece has a little bit of something for everyone: crime, romance, suggestions of cannibalism, the works! It would be a technical challenge worthy of every drop of fake blood involved!

The Murder Play with Jack & Melissa is a delight: the work is brilliantly deft in its blending of tones and genres (let's see... it's a meet-cute/dark absurdist piece, mixed with a found family narrative and some true crime, topped with a Tarantino-esque amount of gleeful gore). McLachlan balances it all with wit and pathos and creates a singular journey for the audience. I was absolutely riveted!

Well, this is delightful. A dark comedy about a serial killer (but a good one - he only kills bad people!) and the woman who accidentally stumbles upon his murder cabin, "The Murder Play with Jack & Melissa" is hilarious from start to finish. I loved the dialogue and the physical bits and just how smart and dark the humor was. Also I learned a lot about how to dispose of a dead body - a nice bonus. If you're looking for a comedy, you should 100% read this one.

A very intriguing, gory black comedy. I found it funny, and it made me cringe in a good way. I'm very intrigued by it. This is not going to be every audience's cup of tea, but I liked it and would like to see it produced. Definitely worth a read.

This brisk comedy begs the question: What would happen when an affable serial killer meets a true crime fanatic? The answer is a lot of laughs and some surprising twists and turns. I can imagine this being a really fun two-hander for a pair of actors to tackle, and I’d love to see it realized on stage some day. Recommended!