Review of The Makings of a Murderer at the Royal Theatre Castlebar

We're all obsessed with the true crime documentaries on Netflix, so when I got the opportunity to review The Makings of a Murderer at the Royal Theatre Castlebar, I jumped at the chance. 

How I would describe this show is that it is like a LIVE true crime documentary. It is presented by The Scottish Detective, David Swindle who caught serial killer Peter Tobin. This is what intrigued me most about going to this show, the fact that we would be listening to an actual detective who had done this job for over three decades as oppose to someone who just reads alot about crime and they become a self proclaimed 'expert' on the topic.

The first thing that impressed me was the pretty cool staging for the show. Resembling a police station, they had old metal filling cabinets, a desk, books and evidence boards up on a wall. At the centre of all this was a massive screen for video clips which David would show throughout his talk.

The show was in two parts with an interval to grab a beverage. The first half takes a look at many infamous serial killers, how they think and how they are caught. If you are a true crime fanatic you will already know alot of what is discussed in the first half but that being said it was still interesting to listen to and David injected humour throughout. My only negative here would be that the slides being shown on the big screen had alot of writing which sometimes would draw your attention away from what he was saying as you read them.

For me, the second half of the show was the most interesting part. Here, David went into detail on how he and his team caught serial killer Peter Tobin. It was fascinating to hear about the gathering of forensic evidence and the great lenghts forensic biologist Carol Rogers went to in order to gather samples from Tobins victim, Angelika Kluk. David showed clips from old Crime Watch episodes that covered the investigation, a show he said was a great help to them which sadly no longer exists.

David also reminds us how important it is to remember the victims of these horendous, sadistic crimes. There is far too much glamorising of serial killers and its the victims who matter. 

Over all, The Makings of a Murderer was an enjoyable show. David presented it well and held the audience attention throughout. It is quite chilling to hear the gory details of these murders and it blows your mind to think a person could be so evil and sadistic. You can learn more about David Swindle and the work he does helping victims here