Ruth. The Musical Book by Caroline Slocock, Music by John Cameron, Wilton's Music Hall, Graces Alley, Cable Street, London E1 | until 28 March 2026 ⭐⭐ Review by William Russell.

Ruth. The Musical Book

by Caroline Slocock

Music by John Cameron , Francis Rockliff & James Reader. Lyrics by Caroline Slocock & Johnb Cameron.

Wilton's Music Hall, Graces Alley, Cable Street, London E1 | until 28 March 2026

⭐⭐ Review by William Russell.

“There is really nothing the hard working cast, a decent band and two directors can do to save the show.”

There is one moment in act two when this dismal musical about the life of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, suddenly shows what it could have been instead of a gallantly performed but mindless affair. Ruth is on trial before the judge Christmas Humphreys and the lawyers for the prosecution and defence are arguing when the hostesses for the club where she worked burst on stage and sing a number called Hypocrisy – the men are all customers. But for the rest in spite of the efforts of Hannah Traylen as Ruth and Bibi Simpson as Ruth in the condemned cell chatting with Albert Pierrepoint, the hangman, a good performance by Ian Puleston Davie, it is quite simply dire. Her story has been told before notably in the film Dance With A Stranger starring Miranda Richardson as Ruth and Rupert Everett as David Blakely, the lover she killed, and her execution remains controversial today as indeed it was in 1955. Ruth had a terrible life – abused by her father, she ended up, after several no future jobs, and at least one child, working as a hostess in a London club where she met Blakely, a racing driver a little younger than her, and fell hopelessly in love. On April 10, 1955, outside the Magdala Tavern in Hampstead armed with a gun, supplied at some point by another of her lovers, she shot Blakely several times and was sent to trial. She was found guilty and hanged on July 13. The score is unmemorable, the book fails to hold one's interest – at times there are three Ruths on stage as she also appears as a girl which confuses things no end – and Connor  Payne, in spite of looking remarkably like Blakely, try though he does, never reveals what it was that made Ruh so obsessed with him. He beat her up, took her  money and lived with other women but Ruth was in love, She had other men in her life, children, and appears to have had no problems about being a hostess – it gave her the good things in life as well as, particularly in the case of Blakely, and possibly in the case of Cussen’s, the bad, There is really nothing the hard working cast, a decent band and two directors can do to save the show – it was a bad idea in the first place.

Cast

Hannah Traylen – Past Ruth.

Bibi Simpson – Cell Ruth.

Ian Puleston-Davies – Pierrepoint.

Connor Payne – David Blakely, Inspector.

John Faal – Desmond, Doctor.

Paddy Duff – Howard, Roy, Policeman.

Freddy Williams – Saunders, John, Joe.

Garth Nardlsey – Arthur/Judge.

Sarah Lawn – Berta. Jean.

Alice Redmond – Conner, Susan.

Me-Li Yap – Young Ruth, Mary.

Creatives

Directors – Andy Morahan, Denise Silvey.

Musical Director – Dustin Conrad,

Set & Costume Designer – Nicola Hart-Hansen.

Lighting Designer – David Howe.

Sound Designer – Simon Slater.

Video Designer – Ben Bull.

Movement & Intimacy Director – Rebecca Wield.

Fight Director – Philip D'Orleans.