Rating: ★★★★
Venue: Adelphi Theatre, London
Cast: David Swindle
Join The Scottish Detective, David Swindle, for a chilling, thrilling, night. True crime fans, and those with a curious mind, can explore the cases, the circumstances and the detective’s perspective on what really went on, the early warning signs and the clues behind The Makings of a Murderer.
What makes a serial killer tick? What are the tell-tale signs? What really goes on behind the scenes? Learn about the biggest British serial killers of all time.
In part of a huge 100+ date national tour, last night we joined hundreds of fellow crime enthusiasts to celebrate the London premiere of David Swindle's, The Makings of a Murderer.
As a nation, serial killers have always seemed to pique our interests, but this seems to have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. With the glamorisation on TV and film of serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy, it's become a tricky subject to navigate respectfully, but David Swindle does just that.
Our host of the night, David Swindle, is the Scottish detective who caught UK serial killer, Peter Tobin. David is charismatic and I think it's a testament to anyone's likeability to command the stage and capture the audience's attention for over two hours. While the subject matter is heavy, David manages to keep it as light hearted as possible and entertain us with his anecdotes and knowledge from his time as a detective.
David gives us the hard truths of what these serial killers were like; without a trace of glamourisation in sight. He manages to build tension and anticipation at just the right moments, and the audience were clearly well engaged, "oohing" and "ahhing" at the right times. It feels more like a lecture from a professor than a show, but I mean this in the best way.
The set is simplistic and David starts the show with a dramatic entrance, with intense music and hanging his coat on the side of the stage. There's a few pieces of furniture on the stage, but the focus is the projection of key notes which is behind David at all times. We're also treated to some video and audio clips, that I, personally, hadn't heard or seen before.
The first half of the show focused on many UK serial killers; many we already had some base knowledge of, but also some lesser known killers. With the second half, we have a deeper glance into the world of Peter Tobin, and how Swindle managed to catch him. It was a fascinating insight into the world of detective work, and highlights how much time and resources truly goes into catching a killer.
Without David's charisma and compelling storytelling, I don't think this show would be anywhere near as successful as it's going to be. He presents the information in such an absorbing way and you'll be feeling a range of emotions throughout the two hour talk; horror, shock, disgust - just to name a few.
You'll even get the chance to send in some questions via social media and David may answer yours live on stage. This was a fantastic way to make the show feel both more personal and interactive. If you're a fan of true crime, there's no doubt you'll have a great night out at the theatre.
You can catch The Makings of a Murderer on it's UK tour, here.
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