Bloodless: The Trial of Burke and Hare

Theatre 20′s production of BLOODLESS: THE TRIAL OF BURKE AND HARE by Joseph Aragon. Photo by Riyad Mustapha.

Adam Brazier introduced Theatre 20′s inaugural production of Winnipeg playwright Joseph Aragon’s Bloodless: The Trial of Burke and Hare at the Panasonic Theatre on Thursday night, almost two years after he announced the launch of the Toronto-based, artist-led musical theatre company on the very same stage. Producing a new Canadian musical is no easy task, yet, judging by the fine collective effort put forth by the cast and creative team, the struggle has finally paid off.

Bloodless tells the true story of two 19th century Irish serial killers who start a business selling bodies to anatomy schools in Edinburgh. Narrated by the Scottish lawyer Sir William Rae (Sweeney MacArthur), the macabre tale examines numereous murders perpetrated by William Burke (Evan Buliung) and William Hare (Eddie Glen), otherwise known as the West Port murders.

We first meet the dirt poor duo at Tanner’s Close, a rooming house run by Hare’s wife Margaret (Jan Alexandra Smith) in which Burke’s lady Helen McDougal (Trish Lindström) also lives. It all begins with the sale of a lodger who has died of natural causes. The purchasee is Doctor Robert Knox (David Keeley), a local anatomist with a devoted student following. The deranged scientist is willing to offer more money for bodies in good condition, leading the desperate men to justify killing a sick man for profit. In the darkly amusing number “The Bugger Is Better Off Dead,” they discover a method of suffocating the victim by holding him down and covering his nose and mouth.

Seeing this as an opportunity to afford a better life, Burke and Hare find more victims to trade in for coin, including a young woman named Abagail Simpson (Laura Jean Elligsen) and a prostitute named Mary Paterson (Kaylee Harwood). Margaret is indignant when she finds out the men are taking innocent lives, but she is more interested in the prospect of a comfortable future, while the materialistic Helen lusts after fashionable clothing and jewelry. Thus, the women become implicated in the murderous scheme, luring unfortunate souls into Tanner’s Close to please their partners.

The venture begins to fall apart, however, when another prostitute, Janet Brown (Carly Street), questions her friend Mary’s disappearance, and the two killers disagree on how to cover their tracks. In a rowdy pub scene, Burke brags about receiving a large inheritance in the hilarious song “Uncle Bob,” while Hare decides he wants nothing more to do with the business. Burke is not ready to give it up, murdering an acquaintance while on vacation with Helen. But the crime is sloppy this time, and the sight of a banged up body alerts the suspicion of Knox’s apprentice Thomas Wharton Jones (Jeff Irving). Eventually, the year-long killing spree is discovered by the police, and the outraged people of Edinburgh seek swift justice for their losses.

Bloodless is a challenging musical, lyrically dense with haunting melodies reminicent of Sweeney Todd. Director Adam Brazier gets excellent performances out of the ensemble and leads: Buliung is likably evil as the enterprising Burke; Glen gives a compelling performance as Hare, the killer with a conscience; Lindström’s Helen is deliciously greedy; Smith is equally strong as the unhappy Margaret; and Carly Street fully commits to the role of the helpless, heartbroken Janet. Despite some obvious technical difficulties on opening night, Theatre 20′s musical about the value of human life delivers what it promises—a “wickedly entertaining musical spectacle” that is not to be missed.

Bloodless runs until October 28 at the Panasonic Theatre. Visit mirvish.com for more information and to buy tickets.