The Serial Killer Speakeasy is coming to Hong Kong. Why you should be outraged
True crime and cocktails? An event like this completely strips the genre of its investigative integrity and empathy for the victims
Imagine a Saturday night out with friends. You are gathered at a beautiful pop-up event where actors in costumes deliver dramatic monologues while you sip high-end themed cocktails in a speakeasy setting.
On the surface, it just feels like a bit of edgy, immersive theatre. But what if the actors are costumed as real-world serial killers? And what if the drinks in your hands are named directly after the locations and methods of their actual atrocities?
This is the premise of Serial Killer Speakeasy, a travelling entertainment concept hosted by US-based Midnight Creative that is making its way to Eaton HK in Jordan, Kowloon, in October. For the price of admission, attendees will be treated to live dramatisations of American serial killers Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy and Ed Gein, all paired with a menu of custom-mixed drinks.
Don’t get me wrong, I am no pearl-clutching conservative who can’t handle the macabre – I am a devout enthusiast of the true-crime genre. Ever since I picked up Mark Olshaker and John Douglas’ groundbreaking book Mindhunter (1995), which details how Douglas established the FBI’s Behavioural Analysis Unit in the 1970s, I have been fascinated by criminal psychology.