MATTHEW SHEPARD PLAY REVISED

An epilogue has been added to the famed play, The Laramie Project, which tells the story of the homophobic murder of 21 year old student Matthew Shepard.

Titled The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, the 80 minute epilogue, was written by the creators of the original play; the New York-based Tectonic Theatre Project.

The Laramie Project is based on numerous real interviews with residents of the town of Laramie following the brutal beating of Shepard in 1998, and has been performed around the world, including South Africa.

Most controversially, the new epilogue includes an 11 minute scene involving one of Shepard’s convicted killers, Aaron McKinney, who says that he has no remorse for killing the student and reiterates his hatred for gays.

The scene is based on 10 hours of face-to-face interviews with McKinney by one of the play’s writers, Greg Pierotti.

“As far as Matt is concerned, I don’t have any remorse,” McKinney says in the script, reports The Associated Press, which has seen a copy of the script.

McKinney, who insists in the play that the attack started out as a robbery, adds: “The night I did it, I did have hatred for homosexuals.”

The new version of The Laramie Project will debut on October 12 – the 11th anniversary of Shepard’s death – simultaneously across America in 130 theatres and will be performed by more than 1,000 actors.