Jack the Ripper is the subject of a musical in South Woodford

Jack The Ripper provides unlikely subject for Redbridge Drama Centre musical

Jessica Earnshaw Tuesday, March 12, 2013
9:00 AM

An unlikely subject for a musical perhaps? But then so is Sweeney Todd and Titanic.

Jack The Ripper: The Musical will be performed by the Redbridge Youth Theatre as they take on the dark comedy and the unusual setting in their latest offering.

The show not only promises to scare you half to death, but it will also have you laughing uncontrollably and send you home with songs in your head which will be impossible to stop singing.

Set partly in a music hall and partly in the surrounding East End London streets, the play is a musical reconstruction of incidents relating to the East End murders which took place between August 31 and November 9, 1888.

Director Chris Bocking said: “The show was written in the 1970s by Ron Pember and Denis de Marne, so it is quite an old play which is performed by a lot of amateur groups.

“The show is set in a music hall in London, and it plays out some of the incidents that took place in Whitechapel.

“It explores the lives of five victims and several of the suspects, including the Duke of Clarence. Most of the musical numbers discuss what life was like in the east end and for me that is one of the highlights.”

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.

Mr Bocking, who has been directing for 25 years, said: “After recruiting new members, which we do twice a year, I look at their strengths and see how they work together.

“I decided on the show for its musical element which the cast love.”

It is on at the Lovegrove Theatre, Redbridge Drama Centre, Churchfields, South Woodford, from March 20 to March 23. To book call 020 8504 5451.