Jack the Ripper is the tale of a serial killer who murdered prostitutes in the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. Eleven women brutally murdered and the murderer never caught, it has remained an intriguing mystery and compelling curiosity for one hundred twenty-five years. Presented in three acts and without dialogue, A Saturday’s Child tells the story using choreographed dance, circus performance and magician’s devices to portray a documented truth, painted in artistic speculation and shades of sensual enticement.
The stage is landscaped in risers, ramps, platforms and rigging with a backdrop of London. Action moves in many directions and on many levels. Musical selections, chosen for feel, impact and choreographic interpretation, move the story from ‘jolly old England’ during the day into mayhem at night. Lighting captures attention, enhances action and creates deception. Haze contributes to ‘smoke and mirrors’ effects. Costuming and makeup are character and period precise in daylight scenes and become significantly altered, exaggerated and light-affected for night scenes. Peddlers become pick-pockets, vendors become muggers, mothers pushing prams become prostitutes on the prowl. Everything morphs before the audience’s eyes.
Animated storytelling, breathtaking chases, aerial flights and remarkable escapes, the combination of dance, circus and magic is a most compelling art form. A marriage of history and illusion, murder and seduction, surprise and suspended belief, Jack the Ripper is a one-of-a-kind wonder, a rare entertainment experience.
The stage is landscaped in risers, ramps, platforms and rigging with a backdrop of London. Action moves in many directions and on many levels. Musical selections, chosen for feel, impact and choreographic interpretation, move the story from ‘jolly old England’ during the day into mayhem at night. Lighting captures attention, enhances action and creates deception. Haze contributes to ‘smoke and mirrors’ effects. Costuming and makeup are character and period precise in daylight scenes and become significantly altered, exaggerated and light-affected for night scenes. Peddlers become pick-pockets, vendors become muggers, mothers pushing prams become prostitutes on the prowl. Everything morphs before the audience’s eyes.
Animated storytelling, breathtaking chases, aerial flights and remarkable escapes, the combination of dance, circus and magic is a most compelling art form. A marriage of history and illusion, murder and seduction, surprise and suspended belief, Jack the Ripper is a one-of-a-kind wonder, a rare entertainment experience.