Rob Crouch and Jonathan Clarkson as Burke and Hare

<< Brute Farce Home

Skullduggery Home >>

Read further reviews here:
Burke and Hare press

More Burke and Hare info here

Burke and Hare
Aptly returning to the scene of the crime and premiering in Edinburgh at the 2003 festival, Terry Newman's hilariously dark play about Britain's first convicted serial killers was one of the hits of last summer's fringe.

Keeping the same, highly praised, partnership of Rob Crouch and Jonathan Clarkson as Burke and Hare, the show was then co-produced by Brute Farce and original producers Skullduggery for an acclaimed run at the Brockley Jack Theatre in London.

The show charts the descent of two Irish immigrants and their spouses from the opportunistic sale of a dead lodger to a reign of terror in Edinburgh's Westport that resulted in 16 murders between November 1827 and Christmas 1828. This is a fast paced and fluent journey, careering from slapstick farce to melodrama and grand guignol horror and shot through with the trademark imaginative flourishes of established touring company Brute Farce and Edinburgh favourites Skullduggery.

Burke and Hare was one Irsh double act that made a killing without being nominated for the Perrier Award but did gain a Hairline Fringe Review "Highlight" award and a Fringe Report "Drama Writer of the Year" award for its writer.

The Edinburgh production played to packed houses at the C venues 250 seat theatre on Chambers Street but the show worked equally well in the Jack's more intimate 50 seater studio.