Belvoir’s B Sharp production, Tracy Letts’s ‘Killer Joe’, is the kind of play to see when one is in the mood to be transported into a whole other world. The play transports us into the dark, murky world of a Texan caravan park and, in particular, the lives and trials of the Smith family.

‘Killer Joe’ starts at a crisis point for the Smith family. Son Chris has got himself into a massive heap of debt, and there are some nasty people after him. Chris decides on a scheme which involves bumping off his mother, claiming her life insurance and then paying off his debts. He manages to involve his elder brother Ansel and ensconses his sister Dottie in his desperate scheme. They are not able to do the deed themselves, so they recruit local hired gun Killer Joe to do the deed. It is no surprise when his half baked plan goes horribly pear-shaped.

‘Killer Joe’ is, as described by the director Iain Sinclair, a confronting cautionary tale. The play shows in painful explicit detail what can happen when human beings get themselves into a hole, and to get out of it they lose their moral compass, and as Sinclair so evocatively puts it, invite unscrupulous people through the door who then go about destroying their lives.

Sinclair’s production is a strong one. The cast get right behind him to give the play maximum impact, nailing their roles. Christopher Stollery plays the unscrupulous Killer Joe who pushes the Smith family beyond the edge. Robin Goldsworthy is the spineless Chris. Maeve Dermody is the vulnerable, edgy sister Dottie, who becomes the sacrificial lamb. Josh Quong Tart is brother Ansel, who forever regrets agreeing to Chris’s hair-brained scheme. Anita Hegh is his long suffering wife.

Sharp left of the stage, the Snowdroppers, a four piece gutter blues band, belt out some blues numbers as the holes that the Smith’s family have dug become deeper and deeper.

‘Killer Joe’ was one of the strongest dramas of 2008. Iain Sinclair’s production of ‘Killer Joe’ played downstairs Belvoir from the 10th October to the 2nd November, 2008.