THE GLORY OF LIVING opens on a beat-up old mobile trailer, home to 15 year old Lisa and her prostitute mother Jeanette, who entertains her clients behind a sheet that divides the trailer in two. While Clint's mate Jim is taking advantage of Jeanette's services, 33 year old Clint strikes up a conversation with Lisa. Charmed by his charisma and flattered by his compliments Lisa agrees to go away with Clint.By the beginning of scene two the audience is propelled two years forward. Clint and Lisa are married and have twin babies which they hardly ever see. Lisa, now 17 years old, is trapped in a world of abuse, sexual deviance and serial murder. In addition to the physical and emotional abuse inflicted on her by Clint, she is also made to cruise around in the car procuring vulnerable young girls for Clint to rape and then is made to kill them on his behalf.
The first victim that the audience meets, a young girl whose life is a reflection of Lisa's, points out that she thinks Clint is mean. Lisa, taken by surprise, responds "He is?" This had never occurred to her before. To Lisa, this nightmare that she is living had simply become a reality. Too dazed by Clint's life experience and too scared of his brutality, not obeying him had never being an option – until now.
Lisa makes anonymous phone calls to the police who, without too much trouble, track the couple down. With a little nudging Lisa confesses to everything, flattered that the police had recorded her phone calls. When questioned on why she committed the murders, she tells her attorney that it never occurred to her not to do it. That the girls she killed were from a part of society that the world cares little about. Had she not tipped the police off about where to find the bodies, the chances are that no one would have ever known they were dead.
When faced with the death penalty, Lisa accepts it calmly, seeing it almost as a solace from her life. An escape from a hopeless situation where she was raised to believe she was worthless. Lisa was never taught to value her own life and as a result never learnt to value the lives of others.
Unfortunately, love and potential come too late for Lisa.
Photography: Craig O'Regan