By Edite Garjane
On a late evening, when the lights go dim on the streets of The City, the bankers have gone home and the little streets of the area where Jack the Ripper made his way to fame a couple of centuries ago have gone quiet, only a few places keep their doors open for the wonderers, lost ones and those who know exactly where to go.
The Bell Pub on Middlesex Street stands out as the most vibrant place on the street during the late evenings and, since the last Saturday, gives a chance not only to sip a pint while waiting for the rain to stop, but also hosts a play, which fits in with its environment so well that after a while you realize that you’re being taken on a journey through the mysterious chapter of London’s gang life in the area.
This all is referring to the play Alice Diamond and The Forty Thieves, which saw its premiere last Saturday and is a story about a female gang and will satisfy everyones craving for a bit of mystery and crime until 24th of April. The play is a production by the Skin of Our Teeth Theatre company and is about a girl gang, which operated in London in the 1950s. Its leader, Alice ‘Diamond’ Hughes (so called because her diamond rings caused maximum damage) runs a female army of shoplifters, which caused loss of money and lives in most of the shops around the West End.
As dangerous and strong as these young women are, what happens if one of them is spotted, jailed or even killed? The play shows a night full of mystery and conspiracies within the gang itself as Maud (played by Jennie Joannides) returns from serving 6 months in prison, but the joy in her welcome-back party is suppressed as Dolly, also the lover of Eddie, Alice’s brother and the leader of the notorious Elephant Boys, has been shot dead by someone who is yet to be discovered.
One of the successes of the play is obviously its setting, which being upstairs in a pub, goes hand in hand with the scene, set out in the same place, just about 60 years ago. The cast of 12 people and most of them being on the stage at the same time in the most dramatic moments, create a good tension and drags the audience along as the curtains fall and the secrets are revealed.
Written by Madelaine Beevers, who’s also starring as Alice, the play not only grabs the viewer by its unexpected turns, but also shows the women at their best. Madelaine says of the idea of writing about Forty Thieves: “I was reading a book on gangs at the library and there was a small chapter called Alice Diamond. I immediately thought I need to write a play about this ‘cause there are so many gangster films and stories, which are about men and the women are just these sideline characters.”
The women from the Forty Thieves have it all – the looks, the attitude, the right sense of humor and the right to kill given by their leader, Alice, who oversees the whole drama from the sidelines, barely interfering, but heavily influencing. The distinct and strong characters of every woman have only one thing in common. As Maggie (played by Emma Lillie Lees) tells the brave newcomer Rose (Tessa Sowry): “We’re not bad women, but we’re not good either.”
Surrounded by their lovers, brothers, and even the annoying landlord’s son Freddy (Johny Doran) who brings the audience to giggle occasionally, the Forty Thieves bring you a night to remember as the one you were taken decades away, sipping some scotch and being a witness of the inside world the gang you would be the most scared of.
Alice Diamond and The Forty Thieves at The Bell Pub on 55 Middlesex Street E1 7EX April 6th-24th
Written by Madelaine Beevers
Directed by Emma Williamson
Website: http://www.soot-theatre.co.uk/page_2802742.html
Book the tickets: http://www.wegottickets.com/SkinOfOurTeethTheatre