We sat down for a quick chat with Caroline Slocock ahead of her upcoming project. Ruth runs at Wilton Musical Hall between 18 and 28 MARCH. Tickets here: https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/ruth/
How did you approach balancing historical accuracy with emotional storytelling when writing Ruth Ellis’s story for the stage?
I did a lot of research as I wanted to start from a place of being well-informed. Much of our take on her story is true and accurate, and she says some things that she actually said in real life. But I think musicals are one of the most heightened forms of storytelling and it’s alright sometimes to leap into imagination. So alongside the accuracy, I have done just that. There’s a particular element that never happened in real life but which adds a lot of emotional power to our re-telling.
What drew you to Ruth Ellis’s life as a subject, and what do you hope modern audiences take away from her story?
I find her an extremely intriguing character. There’s such a myth around her, a mystique, the blonde femme fatale with the gun. Somehow, she’s never far away from the public consciousness; she seems so woven into British history. I’d like the audience to leave the show with a new understanding of Ruth Ellis. A sense that what happened to her could happen to anyone who had walked in her shoes.
How did you navigate portraying themes of domestic violence and the sex industry sensitively without losing dramatic impact?
Yes, that’s always challenging. It’s an important element of the story, though, so I felt I couldn’t shy away from it. She was abused by men her whole life, beginning with her father. You can’t tell the story of Ruth Ellis properly without touching on that. We’ve made it as restrained and minimal as possible, though, so it’s just one part of the whole narrative.
In what ways did writing both the book and lyrics allow you to shape the characters’ inner lives more intimately?
The wonderful thing with musicals is they allow you to have that extra level of emotional storytelling. The characters can express their innermost thoughts and feelings in a song, almost like a Shakespearean monologue, giving the audience a window into their soul. I should mention the wonderful John Cameron here who co-wrote some of the lyrics.
How do you hope the musical engages audiences in reflecting on societal issues like class, gender, and justice today?
This is a story crammed with all those issues. There’s no doubt that Ruth was judged as much for her place in society (perceived as lowly at the time) and her profession as a nightclub hostess (perceived as immoral at the time) as she was for the crime she committed. We have a song in the courtroom scene, Hypocrites, where Ruth’s fellow hostesses call the judge and the barristers out for their hypocrisy. I think in the current climate, with the tawdry behaviour of certain high-ranking individuals in the news every day, that one will hit the mark!
Were there moments in Ruth’s story that surprised you or challenged your assumptions as you adapted her life for the stage?
I was impressed by the courage she showed at the end of her life, which was unexpected. She acknowledged her guilt after the shooting and never wavered from that. Pierrepoint, the famous hangman, said she was one of the bravest people he ever met.