A Darlington woman has written an original play that is being performed at the Edinburgh Fringe after this month, starring local talent.
Sam Bradshaw, who is a performing arts coach and co-runs Applause Theatre School from Hurworth Grange, has written a show about Britain’s most famous serial murderers.
The play will have audiences questioning the disturbed motives of Britain’s most infamous couples.
Prior to lockdown, a chance meeting between Sam and a prison officer who used to look after Myra Hindley and Rose West at HMP Durham.
Read more: North East school raises the roof with School of Rock performance - in pictures
The idea quickly grew legs and Sam’s play, Blanket in the Dark, about Ian Brady, Myra Hindley, and Fred and Rose West, was thought up and written during lockdown.
Prior to the lockdown, Sam met with a prison officer who used to see Myra Hindley and Rose West at HMP Durham.
Sam told The Northern Echo: “He and I had a long chat, and it really gave an insight into their personalities. Myra and Rose had a brief affair together. It gave me the idea to write the play and the connection between the two pairs of couples.
“We’ve started rehearsing. The first half of the play is Myra and Ian and the second half is Rose and Fred.”
Read more: Darlington's Hayley McKay heads to USA to perform at awards ceremony and in Nashville
The set and props are being kept minimalistic and symbolic and physical theatre techniques such as shadow theatre will be used to show the couples burying their victims through silhouette.
“The conversations between the characters will be quite revealing, Rose actually murdered one of Fred’s children.
“When Rose and Myra met in jail, Rose went not the cell and introduced herself to Myra and apparently the two got into a relationship.
“The prison warden told me that Rose backed off because apparently Myra was more manipulative, but the prison warden told me he thought Rose was the much more manipulative, evil one,” Sam continued.
Starring her daughter, Charlotte Bradshaw, who has spent the last few years training at the New York Film Academy as Myra Hindley, and Michael Taphouse, an actor from Spennymoor, who can often be found performing with Darlington-based Tall Tales Mysteries, as Ian Brady.
The cast also includes Rae Mickelson as Rose West and Andy Roberts as Fred West.
Blanket of The Dark will be performed at theSpace@Niddry Street in the Lower Theatre (Venue 9) from Thursday, August 24 to Saturday, August 26 at 8:45pm.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here