Burke and Hare
DIRECTED BY ABIGAIL PICKARD PRICE.
21 December 2018
Overview
“There’s an awful lot of bodies in Edinburgh, they’re just not dead yet.”
1828, Edinburgh. William Burke and William Hare hit on a new money-making scheme. The first rule of business? Supply and demand. In the leading city for medical research, there’s a huge demand for bodies and inconveniently few deaths. The profitable solution? Murder, of course. As the infamous pair flourish in their new careers, the more they murder, the less they care. But for how long will they get away with it?
Tom Wentworth’s new black comedy is as hysterical as it is historical.
Tom Wentworth is a playwright, broadcaster, and journalist. His recent work includes Burke and Hare, which played Jermyn Street Theatre following a successful run at The Watermill Theatre and a rural tour, as well as projects with new company Unsolicited Theatre. For several years, he wrote The Undergraduate column for Able Magazine about life as a disabled student, and has worked as a Script Editor for the BBC.
Abigail Pickard Price is an Offie-nominated director based in London. She is the Associate Director (New Work and Touring) of The Watermill Theatre.
People
Mrs Hare
William Hare
William Burke
Playwright
Director
Set and costume design
Lighting design
Media
“The raucous script and the company's comedic chemistry ... own the tongue-in-cheek jet-black humour and deploy weapons of mass-hilarity.”
“Pitch-black and wickedly funny … bloodthirsty antidote to pantomime.”
“A gleeful mash-up of history and prurient penny-dreadful scandal, fast, funny and ever so slightly sick.”
“A very merry romp.”
“An absolute blast ... rapid, adept and funny.”
“Hare-raising hilarity...drop dead funny.”