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Mr. Hayes, now 67 and looking fit as a fiddle, presents himself as the quintessential backpacking-through-Europe flower child of the 1960s, who, through his own "idiocy," thought it would be cool to thwart the authorities by taping bricks of the easily-obtainable hashish to his body and making a drug run through the non-existent security that marked air travel at that time. Indeed, it was a breeze for the first three times he did it, but on the fourth attempt, he was caught by the Istanbul police and found himself in the midst of a global anti-drug fervor he says was brought on by President Richard Nixon's "war on drugs." As presented by Mr. Hayes—an accomplished and low-keyed speaker—the tale is a harrowing one. The 70 minute-production flies by as he recounts his arrest, his time in prison, and his final escape aboard a stolen dinghy, followed by a scary trek through a military zone before he crossed the border safely into Greece. He brings up but spares the audience the graphic details of beatings, emotional turmoil, a brief sexual relationship with another prisoner, and the difficult challenges he faced while still in his 20s, until he learned to rely on yoga, self-imposed celibacy, and generally keeping his nose clean in order to survive. The decision and plan to escape arose near the end of his original sentence of four years, when a new trial was ordered and he was re-sentenced, this time to a life term (reduced by a judge to 30 years). Mr. Hayes's story has been told often - in his best-selling 1976 memoir and two follow-up books, and through Oliver Stone's 1978 film adaption, Midnight Express. And though he has issues with the way the Academy Award-winning movie played fast and loose with this facts, this theatrical version might benefit from some of Mr. Stone's kind of "show, don't tell." In addition, it might be helpful for the audience to be given a more complete picture by including the voices of his parents, a representative of the Turkish legal system, one or more of his fellow prisoners, and others who were involved, including a close friend who died violently after coming to Turkey to help Mr. Hayes plan his escape. As it stands, we only can view the events through one pair of eyes. Questions must arise about the intent behind any autobiographical presentation, even one that is told by such a genial and self-effacing personality. In truth, this production can't help but have the feel of a stop on a well-oiled book tour, including the requisite post-performance Q&A session and book signing. If you can accept its limitations, however, Riding the Midnight Express With Billy Hayes does make for a fascinating evening in the company of someone with quite a gripping story to recount.
Riding the Midnight Express With Billy Hayes
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