Many readers may remember when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, leaving a permanent scar in the form of a massive crater — and a life-affirming catharsis.
Students of University of Memphis Theatre and Dance will engage the audience with traditional Greek elements of tragedy in a modern production. The play seeks to reevaluate how we deal with hate in our world and shows us how vital a final gesture rooted in love can be.
Madisen White, a freshman at the U of M, landed the leading role in The Women of Lockerbie. An unexpected change in her educational plans gave way to this amazing opportunity. The Memphis native attended high school in Temecula, California. Planning to earn her college degree in San Francisco, the pandemic altered her itinerary. Her parents felt it would be best for her to come back home to Memphis to attend college. She agreed. Memphis recognized her talents by casting her as Madeline Livingston, the character who lost her 20-year-old son in the crash.
Courtesy of University of Memphis Theatre/Photo by Alice Berry
Madisen White portrays a grieving mother who lost her son in the Lockerbie plane crash.
“The events are real, but the characters are fictional,” White says. “The characters are representational. My character represents a grieving mother who has lost a child.”
White’s voice openly elicits the raw feelings of her character. She hesitates when asked about the other characters, finally exclaiming, “I don’t want to give anything away!”
Seems there might be a lot more to this performance.
What White does want the public to know: “The performance is about healthy grieving and the fact that grieving does take time. You need a community to grieve.”
The Women of Lockerbie, online from University of Memphis Theatre, memphis.edu, Thursday-Saturday, Mar. 11-13,
7:30-10 p.m., free.
