Review: The Blind, WAC Arts

In 1997, Brian Deneke was killed in a hit-and-run. The subsequent trial of the driver, Dustin Camp, where he was found not guilty of murder, but rather the much lesser charge of voluntary vehicular manslaughter, lead to much debate on how the two people were portrayed; Deneke was a punk, and seen as “bad”, whilst Camp was the All-American college football player, so clearly “good”. 

A quarter of a century after his death Jeni Stennis reached out to Jason Deneke, Brian’s older brother, to ask permission to write a play about his life. Except The Blind is not about Brian’s life, it is about our attitudes and prejudices; not just in 1997, but today. Compiled from court transcripts, interviews and email exchanges Stennis had with Jason, it speaks volumes about why, as a society, we allow bad things to happen. It is a story that goes far beyond the reaches of Amarillo, Texas where it all started, and holds up a mirror to society as a whole, making us look at our own complicity in allowing all the wrongs we see to go unchallenged. It’s a play that quietly whispers in our ear the saying “silence is compliance”.

Set over one act, The Blind is an imaginary meeting between Jeni (Heather Manderson) and Jason (Gabe Scherman), so she can ask his blessing to write about Brian. Instantly we’re forced to confront our bias. Jason is wearing an old band t-shirt, arms tattooed, thick Texas accent, listening to punk music. It’s easy to judge him instantly as the rougher of the two, and let’s be honest, the “bad” one. Jeni is much more acceptable, her crisp white top and jeans are casual but smart, her words softly spoken, her music tastes shaped by the Christian music she was brought up listening to. She is obviously the “good” one, isn’t she? It’s an instant echo of the court case itself, and our prejudices are surely a reflection of how the jury reached its decision that Camp clearly couldn’t have intended to murder, because he was the good kid. 

But as the pair talk, those preconceived opinions are utterly turned around; when Jeni confesses that she only really thought about trans-rights when a child at her daughter’s school was refused a place on the choir, you see that she is perhaps not as “good” as she and we believed. She is the one who needs more understanding of how others around her are judged and persecuted because they do not fit in with our ideas of what is normal and acceptable. When Jason suggests “people don’t get angry at the right things” you see in him someone who wants to make a real difference. 

Outside of its incredible script, we are treated to two utterly convincing performances. Scherman’s Jason is controlled and focused, a man clearly angry at the injustice of the world yet also at peace with himself. Manderson’s Jeni begins with an assured confidence, but this slowly fades away as she is confronted with the truth that she has allowed bad things to happen around her. Her honesty as she admits her own biases are presented with the nervousness of someone slowly realising they may not be the good person they believed themself to be. 

The Blind is quite simply an incredible experience. One that should leave us all questioning our own preconceived ideas, and make us look at how we treat, or speak about, others who might be different to us, whether that be punk, trans, immigrant or just those from different backgrounds. 

Written by: Jeni Stennis
Produced by: Parabolic Arts & Impact

The Blind runs at WAC Arts until Sunday 17 August 2025.