Stage musicals have never really been my bag, but even by that measure London Road is a total oddity to me. The play tells the true story of the Ipswich Murders committed by Steve Wright, who killed five prostitutes in 2006. The show was a big hit in the UK, but now it's coming to America as a feature film, and the first trailer for it has been released.
Alongside the play's original cast are Tom Hardy and Olivia Colman, who worked together on Locke last year, with Rufus Norris directing. The interesting thing is all of the song lyrics and dialogue is taken from actual interviews with the community plagued by the murders. Here's the synopsis:
Based on the National Theatre’s highly acclaimed verbatim musical directed by Rufus Norris, which he now directs as a feature film, LONDON ROAD documents an incident from 2006, when the town of Ipswich was shattered by the discovery of the bodies of five women. The residents of London Road had struggled for years with frequent soliciting and kerb-crawling on their street. When Steve Wright, the occupant of no. 79, was arrested, charged and then convicted of the murders, the community grappled with what it meant to be at the epicentre of this tragedy. Adam Cork’s music uses the rhythmic speech patterns captured on Alecky Blythe’s recorded interviews with the people of Ipswich to create this extraordinary work, which reveals the ways in which even the darkest experiences can engender a greater sense of our mutual dependence.
London Road opens in the UK on June 12th. Not sure if something like this will make it here but if it does we'll let you know. Hardy has only one song in the film, but for those who want more they can check him out soon as Elton John in Rocketman.
