"Jack the Ripper, Monster of Whitechapel"
by Joe Dickinson
Directed by Tania Slater
This is a comical but scary treatment of the serial killer who terrorized London in the 1880’s. Many of the characters and events are taken from history but others are pure comic invention. There are several murders but these are given a wickedly humorous touch - by the victims themselves! The author has adopted a theory ( which some actually believed at the time ) that the murders had an occult theme. Four murders are committed and the play revolves around the attempts to save the fifth victim. Jack’s identity is not revealed until the end and three alternative endings have been provided for the director’s choice. So, should the director have a fiendish streak (hmm – I wonder?) even the cast could be kept guessing until the final scene!
Performed July-August 2008
See below for cast details and some scary photos from the show!
Cast:
Bogeyman/Jack - RHYS WILLOUGHBY (A devil worshipper)
Mrs.Dobbs - VAL LUSCOMBE (A cleaning woman)
Officer O’Connell - TOM LUSCOMBE (Police Officer)
Phillip Poole - DALE LUSCOMBE (Manservant to Dr. Winslow)
Polly Poole - BILLIE MCKENNA (Dr. Winslow’s maid, Phillip’s wife)
Ernestine Pankhurst - ELISE HOWELLS (A Suffragette, Dr. Winslow’s fiancée)
William - NEIL JONES (Duke of Clarence)
Forbes Winslow - BRYAN PHILLIPS (A Physician)
Sir Charles Warren - MARK LONG (Commissioner of Police)
Angela Ellison - CANDI SLATER (Reformed Girl of the Streets)
Pegeen Laszlo MacDougal - CARLI TAYLOR (Practitioner of White Magic)
Hogarth - BRETT WILKINSON (Her Familiar)
Easy Mary Anne - MARY MAURER
Annie Chapman )
Kate Eddows ) - BECKY NERETLIS (Jack’s Victims)
Anne Kelly )
