A play of Jack the Ripper.

"Outstanding" ***** Critics' Choice, Time Out

“The best dramatic poet now at work in English” Daily Telegraph

“Glyn Maxwell is a superlative writer. (His) writing gleams with the wit of John Donne and is written in the rhythm of Shakespeare” ***** The Scotsman

Mary Kelly is sexy, bright, and devil-may-care. Joseph Barnett is a steady, decent sort. Just another couple struggling to keep love alive in modern Britain... Only this modern Britain is the East End in 1888: and the breaking news – of a man who slaughters prostitutes and calls himself ‘Jack’ – may be more than just a scare-story...

Based on the true story of the final victim of Jack the Ripper, this haunting play, by award-winning poet and playwright Glyn Maxwell, promises to be one of the most talked-about productions of 2008.

CAST

Jennifer Kidd - Mary Jane Kelly
John Wark - Joe Barnett
Andrew Mathys - The Musician

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CREATIVE TEAM

Paul Burgess - Designer
Katharine Williams - Lighting Designer
Emily Agnew - Assistant Director
Jason Meininger - Associate Lighting Designer
Karina Hawkins - Costume Supervisor
Niki Szedenics - Assistant Designer

"Outstanding central performances... a more luminous depiction of society's dark recesses you'll rarely find..."
***** Time Out

“Alex Clifton’s artful production … [has] two outstanding central performances from Jennifer Kidd and John Wark” ***** Critic’s Choice, Time Out

“A more luminous depiction of society’s dark recesses you’ll rarely find.” ***** Critic’s Choice, Time Out

“This is a gorgeous production … insist[ing] upon the importance of remembering the real people who get lost when public horrors shatter hidden, private lives.” London Theatre Blog

“Maxwell’s script, his capturing of the colloquial language of his characters, and the actors’ delivery of it, is spot on … the staging is also excellent.” Extra Extra

“Stylistically elegant … Jennifer Kidd [is] magnificently watchable … John Wark is nicely pitched.” Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard

“Alex Clifton’s seductive revival moves with a fluidity that matches the shifting rhythms and moods of Glyn Maxwell’s skilful, colloquial verse.” London Theatre Blog

 “Maxwell asks us to recall the real story behind the victim’s photo in the paper – a plea which is perhaps even more relevant in our current media-saturated times.” Extra Extra

 “Glyn Maxwell has set up a tense and uncomfortable scenario … the intensity of this well-written, well-acted performance is near claustrophobic at times.” Extra Extra

 “Both Kidd and Wark are very good in their respective roles of the enigmatic Celtic spirit and the good-hearted East End boy… an accomplished production.” Extra Extra

 “As Joe, John Wark has brilliantly mastered the poor man’s painstaking eloquence … painful and funny and heartbreaking.” London Theatre Blog

“Jennifer Kidd is vibrant and mercurial, wilful and self-destructive … [her interactions with Wark] are assured and beautifully timed and there’s real tenderness and frustration and need in their relationship.” London Theatre Blog
 
“Andrew Mathys provides much more than appropriate tunes; he moves like a wraith in counterbalance to the actors [and] does much to create the atmosphere of the piece and to sustain dramatic tension while the actors make costume changes or rearrange their props.” British Theatre Guide

“An imaginative set by Paul Burgess … very atmospheric lighting by Katharine Williams” British Theatre Guide