We Happy Few’s Kill the Ripper is an edgy, nerdy, scandalous romp through Victorian London. Fairlith Harvey’s play calls for three savvy and well-equipped ladies-of-the-night to take charge and take out Jack the Ripper himself. Yet as the story progresses, these women face more immediate challenges and seize every opportunity to stay alive.
The play begins in a London corridor in 1888. Unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper is at large, primarily targeting women sex workers in the East End. Kit (Paige O’Malley) and Pudding (Bri Houtman) are two such colleagues and the best of friends, but when a random act of violence puts each woman at risk, they take matters into their own hands. Drawing the attention of Viola (Gabby Wolfe), this newfound trio forms a pact to protect themselves and each other at all costs. Aided by Megan Behm’s mildly slapstick direction and Casey Kaleba’s top-notch fight choreography, Kill the Ripper is a lesson in self defense. Kit, Pudding, and Viola must defend themselves against Jack the Ripper and restore justice to the many women he struck down and silenced.
Returning to the feminist-revenge trope after co-starring in last year’s Dracula, Houtman brings feisty energy to the optimistic Pudding. She never reduces the character’s optimism to naivete and embraces the strength Pudding holds in the face of many injustices acted against her. With the hope of one day playing Juliet on stage, Pudding is a vivacious dreamer with ambition. As threats toward the women escalate throughout the play, we learn that Pudding’s bite is in fact worse than her bark.
O’Malley plays the confident and tender leader of the pack. Kit is a lovable cynic, but her cunning and charismatic nature keeps the demons at bay. While she is initially resistant to change, Kit nevertheless accepts and embraces Viola as a friend—and possibly something more. O’Malley delves into Harvey’s scandalous script without hesitation and her physical comedy is a true scene-stealer.
As the newest addition to the trio, Wolfe is charming as the oddball ingenue Viola. What Viola may lack in Christian virtue, she makes up for in virtuosity. While she plays the more traditional heroine out of the three women, Wolfe gives a performance that is bubbly, engaging, and rib-ticklingly clever.
Robert Pike single-handedly supports the cast in an endless rotation of men’s roles. He impressively navigates this onslaught of men, appearing in each scene in a new costume by Madi Wentela. Playing everything from a cad to a john to a gentleman caller, his standout characters include Shakespearean wannabe Charles and Viola’s favorite patron, Percival, a whimsical adult man with a signature fetish. Percival might be the marrying type, but for Viola, he is simply “too peculiar.” These two men represent only part of the equation.
While Charles and Pervical turn out to be worthy confidants, there are other men lurking in the shadows. As Kit plainly puts it, “any man we go with has the luxury of killing us if it strikes the fancy.” Therein lies the horror story behind the play. Jack the Ripper could be anyone and everyone these women encounter.
Bloody surprises and whisperings of the grotesque haunt the London streets, but We Happy Few’s irreverent production jumps in with both feet. Megan Holden’s simple Victorian set design sets the stage for this intimate and contemporary retelling of a legendary fish story. Jason Aufdem–Brinke’s lighting design creates chilling silhouettes that shroud identities and produce shivering transitions between scenes.
Self-described “nerd-lesque” artist Harvey likely has a penchant for true crime, but this feminist revenge tragedy is a promising pièce de résistance. For every insidious moment, Kill the Ripper responds with blood-pumping laughter. This fun and funny play explores women’s friendships, embraces the weird sides of intimacy, and will surprise and delight audiences.
We Happy Few’s Kill the Ripper, written by Fairlith Harvey and directed by Megan Behm, runs through Nov. 18 at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. wehappyfewdc.com. $10–$45.