When we think of famous criminals, more often than not we overlook the Aussie lawbreakers whose crimes took place in the very cities and bushlands we call home. This is something Roy Maloy, the award-winning true crime writer and performer, wants to change.
“Our stories are far more interesting than American stories yet we have spent generations obsessing over American Cowboys and Indians, Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde and overlooking our own incredible stories, including Squizzy Taylor, Dolly Gray, Minnie Clark, Bridget Mahoney, Valentine Keating, Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine,” he says.
Described as a cross between Mythbusters and Casefile, his new show, Criminal Outsider – A Live True Crime & Forensics Performance, offers a chance to step into the past lives of some of Australia’s most fascinating and forgotten female lawbreakers.
“(They’re) amazing stories because they highlight the difference between the way people who identify as female at the turn of last century committed crimes in comparison to other lawbreakers at that time. Their methodology is different, their motives are different and their execution of their crimes is different.”
He’ll be joined on stage by Adelaide true crime author Ash Tonkin and Geelong Gaol Museum’s head historian, Deb Robinson, better known as Madame Murder.
“It’s an interesting collaboration because each of us has such a different specialty area. Madame Murder quite famously ran tours for many years through Melbourne and the Geelong Gaol Museum for over 20 years and is one of the most esteemed presenters in the country. Ash Tonkin is only 18 years old, a prodigy and new to stage performance.”
With a new array of weapons and a skeleton which he’ll be firing projectiles into to test the calibre of various guns used throughout history, he can’t wait to hit the stage.
“I think that the public interest in true crime has allowed this opportunity to present these incredible biographies and the interest in the weapons demonstrations has really brought these stories to life.
“I absolutely love being able to discover these incredible things, and on top of that, finding accurate replicas of the weapons described to show the audience. The show also includes at least one weapon that was probably used in one of the cases that we have included in the book. The weapon was gifted to us to use for this tour by the family who have kept it in their possession for four generations.”
There will also be plenty of laughs – “all in good taste of course,” he says.
“I think it’s a fine balancing act between coping with trauma through shared laughter and not mocking the situation. I’m always very clear with my audiences that I don’t glorify the crime or the criminals but I try to understand how each individual goes from being a perfect baby when they are born all the way to a moment in time when they become one of the most notorious criminals in history. Similarly, when I make jokes during the performance they are never made in a way that is degrading or negative about a person or devalues their experience. The material I present is often satirical because it highlights the irony we experience as we analyse these cases and realise how human we all are.”
The show is inspired by the biographies featured in his new book, The Black Widow – Women Who Kill, which will be launched at the show’s SA premiere at The Bally in what will be “one of the biggest” he’s ever done.
Criminal Outsider – A Live True Crime & Forensics Performance, various venues, until 21 March