Phil Mealey introduces his Making A Murderer musical

Comedy writer and actor Phil Mealey's latest show is a bold choice. A passion project, he's set to bring the real-life story at the heart of hit Netflix documentary series Making A Murderer to the Edinburgh Festival, in a musical format.

A darkly comic musical about a real-life murder case. Not your average Edinburgh Fringe show, Phil?

Like millions of people, I was fascinated with the case and, having watched the Netflix documentary, I became obsessed with it and watched as much detail on that as I could.

Steven Avery served 18 years for a crime that he didn't commit. The introduction of DNA testing found that he was innocent and identified the true perpetrator. The police officers in Manitowoc county (his home town) knew of this information but suppressed it and Steven was suing them after his release for 36 million dollars. During this time, the murder of Teresa Halbach was committed, and Steven was one of the last people to see her alive. He was arrested, along with his cousin Brandon who was 16 and had learning disabilities, they were both found guilty. However, it is clear that the majority of the evidence presented at the trial was suspicious to say the least. I believe that nobody could say that either of them was guilty "beyond reasonable doubt" and even now more evidence is coming to life that will cast out of the validity of the verdict.

It seemed so unbelievable. If, as a writer, I had presented this as a script to a commissioner, I'm sure they wouldn't have believed the story was plausible.

I saw the opportunity to parody flaws in the justice system whilst maintaining the dignity and truth of the real-life tragedy.

Do people need to have seen the documentary to enjoy the musical?

No, because the story is explained in the musical. The musical explores the events of Steven's life and its impact on those around him.

It must have taken some time to get the script right?

Between three and a half to four years. Well hopefully it is right but, in the end, the audience will be the judge of that.

Whilst there is a lot very sad about the story of Teresa Halbach, presumably it wasn't too hard to find humour elsewhere in the story. The villains of the documentary do come across as quite comedic on TV!

We are aware of the tragedy and unimaginable pain of Teresa Halbach's death and can assure you that all aspects that refer to her murder within the telling of this story are handled with upmost respect and sensitivity that they deserve. It is the aspects of the justice system, its flaws and those characters which are involved in the case which are the subjects of parody within the musical.

Is Steven or anyone else involved in the case aware that you're staging this?

Yes they are. I know that both Kathleen Zellner [Steven's current lawyer] and Jerry Buting [a previous lawyer on the case] are aware and eager to see what their characters are like. They shouldn't worry too much.

Do you think Steven will ever be cleared? It is now nearly half a decade since Series 2. The case seems to be taking forever...

This is the problem with the appeal system. It seems we are very quick to convict people but it takes an intolerably long time to exonerate them. There appears to be overwhelming evidence in this case for an evidentiary hearing, so hopefully, the more pressure that is put to bear and the more people that are aware of the case, then this will happen sooner rather than later.

We'll be guilty of a journalistic crime if we don't change the subject now to ask you about Early Doors. The live shows were such a hit. Do you think we'll see the characters again, either live or on TV?

Well, I never say never, but for now my focus is on making the best possible job of the musical I can.

What is next for you after August?

Hopefully we'll be at the next stage with the musical. Also, Craig Cash and I have written a comedy play that we are in talks with a producer with to bring to the stage in Spring 2023.