After first debuting in October 2019 to a sold-out crowd, the Savannah Ballet Theatre is premiering its “Jack the Ripper” ballet performance again at the Tybee Post Theatre for two nights only, on Oct. 21 and 22.
The ballet has no dialogue. Although featuring mature themes, co-creator Abby McCuen said the show is not gory and does not glorify the serial killer.
“I don't think a lot of ballet companies would touch Jack the Ripper just because it is taboo. It's a serial killer,” McCuen said. “[The ballet] is all about the victims, 100% about their stories. I think that using music and movement to move the story along, it just gives you a different perspective.”
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who murdered and brutalized women across the East End of London during the end of the 19th century. Thanks to his nameless identity and obscene killings, his murders still capture the public’s intrigue. This one-act ballet, which will run for approximately one hour with no intermission, centers the story of the infamous serial killer around his five known victims.
Credit: Courtesy of Savannah Ballet Theatre
Credit: Courtesy of Savannah Ballet Theatre
“I feel like when something terrible happens, a murder or a violent crime, it’s all about finding the person who did it, who this person was, and why are they doing it. I feel like the victims get lost in that.” McCuen said. “It’s important that their stories are told because I think victims are usually faceless and get lost in the shuffle.”
Unlike traditional ballets which use physical backdrops to establish the story’s scene, the Savannah Ballet Theatre contracted a backdrop designer out of Atlanta to design the ballet’s multiple scenes. The art will be beamed on a blank wall with a specialty projector.
McCuen and Co-creator Sue Braddy began researching the killings and designing the choreography along with the ballet’s soundtrack in May 2019. “Jack the Ripper,” which uses over two dozen professional company dancers, remains the only non-fiction performance in the theatre's repertoire.
After its two showings later this October, “Jack the Ripper” will not return for several months.
“This is something that we produced right here in Savannah, which I think is so cool. This is done with Savannah's talent. We really want this to be a local event. We truly consider ourselves a part of the cultural fabric here,” McCuen said.
“I really think that people will come out and enjoy it. It's a wonderful story wrapped up in this kind of odd way.”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Ballet Theatre takes you into Victorian era London with 'Jack the Ripper'
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