"The Whitechapel Murders" - September 2006

It's always a bit of a lottery when you go to see a show, especially when it's a newly written and produced play. Sometimes it's a hit, othertimes it's a disappointment. I'm happy to say this one was the former. This was a world premiere run from TheatreFusion.

We'd visited the Britannia Panopticon on Doors Open Day and it's well worth a visit if you get the chance. Entry is via an alleyway, then up some stairs but you emerge into an auditorium that takes you back in time and is filled with ghosts. It was quite apt that this was the venue staging a play about the victims on Jack the Ripper.

Despite its dark subject matter the play is a pleasant mix of the grim and humerous. Well written, with good use of both live musical accompaniment (piano and cello) and projected images (remember and turn off the antivirus scheduled scan if using a laptop), you got a real feel for the 5 victims we hear about. There were good performances from the cast with some nice well directed set pieces.

Sometimes keeping things simple is the best policy and with a limited set, no gruesome makeup effects or stage blood this won't turn your stomach, but will stimulate your brain.

The one limitation of the venue is that there is no tiering to the seating or stage, so you and the performers are all on a level. Try and avoid sitting behind any giants.

Unfortunately this was only a short run, but the company are hoping to stage it again and possibly tour with it - we'll let you know if we hear anything more.
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UPDATE - (from the TheatreFusion website)

"THE WHITECHAPEL MURDERS", BRITANNIA PANOPTICON MUSIC HALL, Trongate, Glasgow. Located above Mitchell's Amusements. Enter via New Wynd, to the right of the amusement arcade.

Thursday 20th September - Saturday 22nd September 2007. Evening Performances at 7.30pm each night, with a Saturday 22nd September afternoon Matinee at 2pm.

TICKETS FOR THE BRITANNIA PANOPTICON SHOWS CAN BE RESERVED FROM 1ST AUGUST 2007. Email: theatrefusion@hotmail.com