Go! review

“Pillowman,” the Know Theatre Company’s season opener, takes place in a non-specified totalitarian fascist state where a pair of interrogators try to solve the murders of several children.

The main suspect is Katurian K. Katurian, the writer of fairy tales. Like the traditional Grimm stories, his tales mostly concern bad children who come to a bad end.

Only one of them has been published, and it bears a striking resemblance to the method used by one of the killers. While poring over his manuscripts, the investigators find similar similarities to another murder, and they feel they must act quickly because a third child is missing.

The play takes place in two different interrogation rooms. While Katurian promises his full cooperation under the threat of physical pain, he hears the cries of his mentally-challenged brother in the next room, presumably the result of his own torture.

There are themes and ideas a-plenty in “Pillowman,” some timeless and some quite timely. How responsible is the author of a fiction whose work has inspired crimes? Are there instances when torture is an acceptable and/or efficient way of gathering information? Can the confession of a man under pressure to confess be reliable?

The acting by Nick Rose and Vandit Bhatt as the interrogators and Todd Patterson as Katurian are all effectively chilling, but seem to be held down by the use of non-specific Eastern European accents that are both inconsistent and distracting. Derek Snow’s turn as the mentally-challenged brother is further hampered by his use of palsied mannerisms that fail to ring true.

But the story itself is strong enough to cut through whatever deficiencies there are in the performance, making “Pillowman” food for thought, and perhaps a cautionary tale about the downside of torture.

• WHAT: “Pillowman” by Martin McDonagh
• WHERE: Know Theatre Company, 1120 Jackson St., Cincinnati
• WHEN: Thursday through Nov. 10
• COST: $15-$22
• MORE INFO: (513) 300-5669; www.knowtheatre.com