London, 1893: A serial killer dubbed the Battersea Butcher has been targeting actresses; four are dead before the curtain even rises in Patricia Milton’s The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective, now showing through March 3 at Washington Stage Guild. With no help from Scotland Yard, sisters Loveday Fortescue (Jen Furlong) and Valeria Hunter (Laura Giannarelli) team up with Katherine Smalls (Debora Crabbe), an American actress infused with vibrancy, to identify the killer despite the Yard’s belief that “ladies are entirely unsuitable to solve crime.” But, while it is easy to appreciate the feminist intent of Milton’s story, in reality, The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective lacks dimensionality. 

The stereotypical feminist elements, which verge on cliche and don’t stand apart from other more powerful stories, detract from the overall storytelling and the potential for significant character development. For instance, Loveday and Katherine lack flaws, which makes them feel two-dimensional rather than unique women protagonists who combat an oppressive male-dominated system. If anything, they merely fill the formulaic role—Loveday with her unrelenting can-do attitude, and Katherine, conveniently trained in fisticuffs (entertainingly emphasized by Crabbe). Consequently, they never grow over the course of the play. 

Simply put, the men are too stereotypically sexist, and the women are too stereotypically feminist. In an early scene, PC Crane (Steven Carpenter, who impressively fills all the men’s roles) unsurprisingly says, “detective work is the realm of men” as he tries to deter Loveday’s intrigue in the mystery. Lacking originality, the argument comes off as cringe-worthy. And although the dialogue is witty at times, most of the punchlines hinge on the same feminist-related tropes, making them feel overused, even when joking about the lack of pockets in women’s clothing. 

This is not to say that the production completely lacks depth. Under Morgan Duncan’s direction, the second half of the play is fast-paced and riveting as it tackles important realities of womanhood, such as internalized sexism, wonderfully portrayed through Giannarelli’s interpretation of overwrought Valeria as the character struggles to defy social norms. The show also addresses how “hiding fear and revulsion under grins”—a practice women know all too well—often leads to victim blaming, which still maintains cultural significance in a post #MeToo society. This theme provides for an interesting comparison considering the time and setting of The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective’s narrative. 

Notably, the characters also criticize the romanticization and fictionalization of violent individuals, which is applaudable and certainly relevant considering the public’s increasing obsession with serial killers such as Ted Bundy and the Zodiac Killer. It implores the audience to contemplate our societal fascination with violence. 

Despite these positive notes, when analyzing the show through a feminist lens, it isn’t anything new, and it doesn’t add to greater societal discourse. By overly relying on defying gender roles, the play loses the mystery at what ought to be the root of its story. 

Patricia Milton’s The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective, directed by Morgan Duncan, has been extended and now runs through March 3 at Washington Stage Guild. stageguild.org. $50–$60.