WINNER

VILLAIN SHORT STORY WINNER

BY WENDY HOOD

Russel Smith can’t quite believe his eyes as he looks at the newly-posted cast list on the notice board. He walks towards the director, who smiles when he sees him coming. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but I wondered if there might possibly have been an error with the casting sheet. You see, I didn’t audition for...”

“Ah, Russel, yes, em, no there’s no mistake. We just thought you might be more suited to this role. We thought you’d be up for the challenge of trying something new.”

“I’m not sure I understand. I always play the good guy.”

“Yes, but the hero in this particular play is supposed to be a good-looking young fellow, twenty years your junior, and you know what they say; time waits for no-one, and there’s only so much that make-up can achieve.” Stuart fiddles with his pen as he chuckles at his own joke, and Russel finds himself nodding and smiling as though it’s no big deal.

As he walks home, he mulls over the implications of this. There’s a good reason why he never auditions for the parts of villains, but on the other hand, it’s a big role, and it’s not in his nature to argue. So, how does one get into the mind of a stone-cold killer? He thinks to himself. And just like that, the transition begins.

He reads the script, committing his lines to memory, but that’s the easy part. This character is a sociopath.

He is a rude and obnoxious man who antagonises everyone he meets, except for the leading lady who seems to connect with him and who becomes his love interest. With her, he explores different sides of his character, sometimes cruel and abrasive, and other times charming and attentive, wooing her and luring her into his fantasies, which culminate in him killing her in the final scene. This is quite unlike any part he has played before, in fact, the whole play is much darker than anything the company has attempted previously, and he finds himself quite on edge at the prospect of entering such a bleak mind.