Playwright Amanda Whittington’s new work about Ruth Ellis—the last woman to be hanged in Britain—gets its world première in Staffordshire this week.
Newcastle-under-Lyme’s New Vic will be staging The Thrill of Love which looks at the woman behind the headlines and the events that drove her to murder her lover.
Ruth Ellis became obsessed with a wealthy, womanizing man. After she killed him, she pleaded not guilty to murder yet offered no defence.
The play tries to explain why she showed no remorse and who she was trying to protect.
Amanda Whittington says about The Thrill of Love, “I’ve always been interested in stories of women and stories of injustice, so naturally I was interested in the Ruth Ellis story.
“She was an East End hostess in a nightclub in the West End and this notorious criminal moment in her life changed everything. We know what she did; I wanted to know why she did it.”
Amanda Whittington's plays include Be My Baby which was staged by the New Vic in 2008, Bollywood Jane (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Ladies Day (Hull Truck Theatre) and Satin ‘n’ Steel (Nottingham Playhouse and Bolton Octagon).
The cast of The Thrill of Love features Faye Castelow (Rattigan’s Nijinsky, Chichester Festival Theatre); Mark Meadows (The Spire, Salisbury Playhouse); Hilary Tones (Swallows and Amazons, national tour); Maya Wasowicz (Faith Machine, Royal Court); and Katie West (Punk Rock, Lyric Hammersmith).
The production is directed by James Dacre who recently directed As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe. His other directorial credits include the world première of The Mountaintop (Theatre 503 and Trafalgar Studios) which won the 2010 Olivier Award for best new play.
The Thrill of Love runs at the New Vic from Friday (22 February) until Saturday, 9 March before visiting the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough from 13 to 23 March.
It will then transfer to St James Theatre, London from 27 March until 4 May.