Theatre Review: There Are No Beginnings at The Leeds Playhouse, in the new Bramall Rock Void Theatre

SPANNING the Yorkshire Ripper’s active years (1975-80), Charley Miles’ BSL accompanied new play, There Are No Beginnings, focuses on how the lives of four Leeds women are affected by his reign of terror.

Neatly beginning and ending with the titular line “There are no beginnings”, the four strong female cast stand around a maroon painted block, narrating and intersecting in each other’s stories as they use dressing-up boxes to travel through the years. The audience sit either side of this block, making for a highly intimate performance as schoolgirl Sharon (Tessa Parr), prostitute Helen (Natalie Gavin), policewomen Fiona (Jesse Jones) and care-worker June (Julie Hesmondhalgh of Coronation Street fame) reflect on their involvement.

Despite its grim subject-matter, There are no Beginnings is funny at times with particularly amusing scenes between the two young girls, Sharon and Helen, aged 14. Their first awkward meeting, they are forced to share a space, resulting in them arguing over the desirability of Donny Osbourne and wildly dancing to Supertramp’s Dreamer, all inhibitions entirely lacking.

Soon, however, the Ripper taints their whole existence, breeding mistrust amongst the community and completely altering a way of life as once open doors are suddenly locked. Alongside interesting Ripper facts like the floor of the police central incident room needing to be reinforced to bear the weight of case files, There are no Beginnings shines a light on a difficult time for many as local mills closed down; women in the police force struggled to be taken seriously; wives feared for their husband’s reputations post-questioning ; police struggled to find the perpetrator; mothers grappled with paranoia and women joined together for “Reclaim the Night”, marches to highlight the hypocrisy of women being given a curfew when a man was posing the threat.

Miles’ moving script is complemented by the simplicity of the set and four powerhouse performances, ably directed by Amy Leach. Leach poignantly punctuates the action with choice radio news snippets often looped. Emotional monologues about fears, dreams and nightmares are thoroughly captivating while there’s an especially moving mother-daughter hospital conversation and Helen’s realisation she’s actually a prostitute is heart-breaking. A rapt audience throughout.

There Are No Beginnings shows at The Leeds Playhouse 16 October-November 2: https://leedsplayhouse.org.uk/events/there-are-no-beginnings/

Leo Owen