Overview
In this intimate ghost story, Mary Jane Kelly has a problem. She’s a pound forty behind in her rent, her window is broken, she has lost her key, and her boyfriend just moved out. And it’s 1888—not a good time to be poor and “unfortunate” on the streets of London. Somewhere out there in the foggy shadows, Jack the Ripper, one of the world’s most notorious criminals is at work. Mary only has two ways to secure her own front door. One of them is prostitution. The other is selling something she shouldn’t have in the first place, something she’ll have to betray her murdered best friend and herself to give up.
Casting & Production
Casting
MARY JANE KELLY — a prostitute, late twenties.
Mary Jane also serves as:
LANDLORD — a Whitechapel slum-lord.
POLICEMAN — an East Ender policeman.
LUCY — a prostitute.
CATH EDDOWES — a prostitute and alcoholic, 50s.
LIZ STRIDE — a prostitute and alcoholic, 40s, Swedish. Missing her teeth.
JOE — a Fishporter, Mary’s on and off boyfriend.
CHARLIE — a policeman, Mary’s friend.
MR MARCH — a gentleman, client of a West End brothel.
PROPRIETRESS — madam of a West End brothel.
COUSIN — a prostitute, Welsh.
3 WITNESSES — a gossip, a vigilante, a gentleman.
CONSTABLE HUTT — senior policeman and desk clerk. Irish.
CONSTABLE WATKINS — a rookie beat policeman.
INQUISITOR — runs the Ripper inquest.
DOCTOR BROWN — an experienced autopsy doctor.
Casting Note:
This volume includes two versions of the play. The first, as it was originally written, for one actor, and the second, adapted for a company of 5-8 actors
Setting
Time
It is a foggy evening in early November 1888.
Place
Whitechapel London, The Ten Bells Public House, but also the undefined spaces of Mary Jane Kelly’s memory.
Reviews
“Aoise Stratford’s jaw-dropping play…is an hour and a half of theater that is not to be missed!”
—NJ Arts Maven
“THE UNFORTUNATES achieves a rare combination of pathos and humor.”
—Time Out New York
“A captivating portrait…an honest, three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood portrayal… an absolute must-see.”
—Chicago Theatre Review
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