Many may have heard of Jack the Ripper, an unidentified British Victorian era serial killer, but may not know much about his victims. This ballet sets to tell the stories of the victims. Just in time for the terror of Halloween the Savannah Ballet Theatre presents “Jack the Ripper” at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21 and Saturday, Oct. 22 at Tybee Post Theatre.
“We are very excited to bring back this fan favorite for the Halloween season after its debut in 2019. These shows quickly sold out in the past and we’re anticipating another good turnout this year,” said SBT Artistic Director Suzanne Braddy.
This ballet tells the story from the perspective of the five female victims known to have been killed by this criminal. These victims, often referred to as ‘The Canonical Five’, were murdered over a three-month period between August and November of 1888.
“I bet if I ask anybody on the street, they probably couldn’t name one of Jack the Ripper victims, they probably couldn’t name one. We wanted to bring light to these ladies and why they were in the predicament that they were in because their lives were hard,” said Abby McCuen, co-creator of the production.
While this ballet predates the release of Netflix’s “Dahmer: Monster” series about Jefferey Dahmer, which received criticism for what some viewed as the fetishization and sensationalism of a murderer, McCuen wanted her show about another notorious murderer to be different.
“We wanted to make it very clear from the beginning that this is by no means glorifying any kind of violence. There is an interest in true crime and it’s true with a lot of infamous murders, the victims always kind of get left out,” said McCuen.
To this day, Jack the Ripper remains an unsolved case. His identity was never discovered, and he was never brought to justice.
“This was the first historically accurate ballet created by SBT. We created it from the women’s perspective, and I think it’s even better than the traditional Jack the Ripper tales,” said Braddy.
This 55-minute performance is suggested for children 13 and older. While the ballet will not be gory, it does feature adult content. Since creating this show, which tells its story through movement of dance, the Savannah Ballet Theatre has worked on making it better and stronger for audiences.
“People are really going to enjoy it, but we wanted to make sure that the story is clear. Obviously, ballet is all through dance. We don’t use words or songs with vocals, this is all through your movement of dance. We just wanted to make sure that everything translated to the audience, and I just think we delivered,” said McCuen.
The show will feature all local dancers and it’s the mission of the Savannah Ballet Theatre to develop and showcase the talent of devoted Savannah dancers alongside top professional dancers who train in the studio.
“All the dancers live here. They work here. It’s truly a Savannah event and that’s what we wanted. We’re very grateful because this is our 25th season, and it’s literally because of the support and love from Savannah people. We’re so grateful,” said McCuen.
“Jack the Ripper” will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21 and Saturday, Oct. 22 at Tybee Post Theatre, 10 Van Horne Ave, Tybee Island. Tickets are available for purchase on the Events page, tybeeposttheater.org
Learn more about the Savannah Ballet Theatre at savannahballettheatre.org
