Jack the Ripper

The play is a musical reconstruction of incidents relating to the East End murders which took place between Friday, August 31st and Friday, November 9th, 1888. A solution of Jack the Ripper's identity is hinted at, but the play is an atmospheric commentary rather than an historical re-enactment, shifting between reality and artificiality, with characters representing "real" people as well as members of the music hall audience and players.

We were delightfully welcomed to the Stantonbury Theatre by the society’s President, Angela Bowen and her husband who were extremely welcoming and made us feel at home. The theatre itself forms part of the Stantonbury School and is an amazing facility – I am genuinely in awe of the facilities that young people have at their disposal these days – it certainly wasn’t like that when I was at school!

The audience were presented with an open set of London’s alleyways made from brickwork walls. The set was basic but did exactly what it needed to do. The stage itself was quite sizable which enabled the cast to utilize every inch of the space – which they did well. The show started before the overture with some pre-show amble, which set the scene well. A drunk whore being moved along by police, a group of men acting just like men do and lots of “business”.

Paula Fraser did a fine job of directing the talented cast, it was obvious a lot of thought had gone into the staging and direction. The cast were brilliant, and I could easily go into detail about each one of them. They worked together like a well-oiled machine, and the audience could see that they all enjoyed each other’s company.

Caroline Smith as Marie Kelly was the lead of the show, she played the part with gusto and was truly believable in her role. She had plenty of solos throughout the performance, each of which she sang confidently. Described as “The Chairman” in the programme; David Mills did an admiral job of bringing the chairman, Sir Charles Warren, the magistrate, and the Dock’s Foreman. David brought comedy and drama to all of his roles, and he has an outstanding singing voice.

Montague Druitt was played by Graham Mitchell who acted and sang well, he added an air of mystery to his role – and for good reason! Paula Frazer played Lizzie Stride, and I loved her portrayal of Queen Victoria. I also loved Andy Oxford as Daniel Mendoza who brought his character to life delightfully. 

Along with Karen Elliott, Sophie Elliott, Karen Jones, Vivienne Harman, Amanda King, Ann Skelly, Mark Robins, Paul Harman, Mike White, Alan Bennett, Steve Corcoran, Michael Spours, Nick Jones, Barbara Eastaff, Jenny Tygrys, Linda Davy and Shona Gilcrhrist, the entire cast and crew proved that a Gilbert and Sullivan Society do not have to stick to G&S – Jack the Ripper was a marvellous production and I can’t wait to return for more!

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