Meredith J. Duncan
April 16, 2019 — University of Houston Law Center Professor Meredith J. Duncan will take her expertise in criminal law to the Alley Theatre Saturday where she will meet with the audience to discuss legal issues in the play “Crimes of the Heart.”
Duncan, George Butler Research Professor of Law and director of metropolitan programs at the Law Center, was invited to participate in the Alley’s “In Context” program in which guest speakers, actors and artistic staff members discuss themes of the play and how they are reflected in everyday life. Her talk will begin about 4:30 p.m. after conclusion of the 2:30 matinee.
Duncan, who teaches criminal law and legal ethics, and the show’s assistant director, Sophia Watt, will discuss issues faced by one of the characters who has shot her abusive husband, particularly how women are treated in such a case.
Winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle Award, “Crimes of the Heart” is a tragicomedy involving three sisters who reunite at their Mississippi home after the shooting. The sisters, each of whom has had more than her share of hardship and misery, are forced to face the consequences of their “crimes of the heart” as they forgive past resentments, face the present, and look to the future.
