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Somewhere in the fascist dictatorial world of “Pillowman,” there are murders, and the chief suspect is a writer of fantasy fiction, Katurian.

The police detain the writer and his mentally challenged brother to try to find out why the murders sound so much like his unpublished stories.

“The stories are like modern Grimm’s fairy tales,” said Nick Rose, the actor portraying one of the interrogators. “The children are always in danger. Sometimes they make it, sometimes they don’t.”

The interrogators stop at nothing to get answers they want. Scenes shift between a cramped interrogation room and Katurian’s imagination, in a script described as Quentin Tarantino-meets-Alfred Hitchcock.

Rose said that his character is “a bad cop with a heart of gold.”

“He even admits that he sometimes uses excessive force, and sometimes on an innocent man,” he said. “But that’s not going to let him ever ruin his chance to catch the criminal. He has an honorable goal to protect children, but...”

Derek Snow, plays Michal, Katurian’s brother, a developmentally-disable man-child, said that the play is challenging for the actors, but will keep the audience engaged by the psychological drama.

“It’s like a cold splash of water when you get to the reveal,” Snow said.

For his part, he said drew upon his experiences growing up with a mother who taught developmentally challenged children.

“She had a close relationship with several of her students,” he said, “so I also got to know them very well, and there were a couple who were specifically helpful.”

Because the play takes place in a fictional society with Eastern European-sounding character and place names, director Jason Bruffy added the extra challenge of having the actors adopt non-specific accents, sort of Russian, sort of something else .

“I don’t do things that don’t challenge me anymore,” he said. “We’ve got enough ‘My Fair Ladies’ out there.”

• WHAT: “Pillowman” by Martin McDonagh
• WHERE: Know Theatre Company
• WHEN: Oct. 18-Nov. 10
• COST: $15-$22
• MORE INFO: (513) 300-5669; www.knowtheatre.com