Ruth Ellis: The Musical’s Timely Retelling of a Tragic Legacy

Caroline Slocock’s new musical, ‘Ruth,’ premiering in March 2026 at Wilton’s Music Hall, delves into the tragic story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman executed in the UK. Ellis was hanged in 1955 for the murder of her abusive lover, David Blakely. Slocock describes a “lightbulb moment” where the story’s dramatic potential for a musical became clear, seeing it as an “operatic story” rich with themes of love, death, obsession, and a central love triangle, perfectly suited for the emotional depth musicals can convey.

Slocock explains her motivation, stating that while she wouldn’t typically write about a “murderess,” Ruth Ellis is an “intriguing character” with whom she easily empathizes. Slocock believes Ellis was not born evil but was deeply “damaged by her upbringing and abused by men her whole life,” suggesting the murder was a culmination of spiraling violence, potentially influenced by someone providing her with a gun. To ground the narrative, Slocock undertook extensive research, tracing Ellis’s footsteps to locations like the Magdala pub where Blakely was shot, his house, Ellis’s nightclub and flat, and even her grave, finding the experience “overwhelming.”

The musical blends fact with a significant “leap of imagination.” It features a timely courtroom scene where Ellis’s fellow hostesses confront judicial hypocrisy, with lyrics like, “You’re all hippo, hippo, down with the zippo…” Slocock highlights Ellis’s “extraordinary courage” and immediate acceptance of her guilt, exemplified by a letter to Blakely’s mother. The story carries a profound legacy: the defence of ‘diminished responsibility’ was introduced partly in response to Ellis’s case. Through a modern lens, particularly with the #MeToo movement and contemporary understanding of domestic abuse and coercive control, exemplified by cases like Sally Challen, society’s perception of Ellis’s actions has significantly shifted, recognizing the complex psychological factors that drive women to violence.

(Source: https://londonist.com/london/on-stage/ruth-ellis-the-musical)