The true story of one of the last women to be executed in Britain was on stage at The Lowry recently.
Edith, performed in one of the intimate studios at the Salford-based theatre, reveals the story of how Edith Thompson, an unassuming young woman, came to be hung for the crime of incitement to murder of her husband, Percy, in 1922.
The play, from award-winning verbatim theatre company Crowded Room (The Listening Room) uses the actual transcripts from the murder trial, which were performed by just a handful of actors.
The courtroom set is played out in front of a backdrop of huge screens which show the actors leading the back story ie the police interviews, the reading of letters etc.
The tale starts in December 1922, when 28-year-old Edith Thompson was put on trial for inciting her husband’s murder.
Just two months earlier, 20-year-old Frederick Bywaters had stabbed him as he walked home.
Frederick and Edith had become close in the previous months, with Frederick, who was in the merchant navy, frequently corresponding with Edith as the two exchanged letters.
The prosecution claimed Edith told Frederick to kill her husband. The evidence? Her love letters.
Twelve members of the British public, 11 men and one woman, then decided if she lived or died.
When they revealed a guilty verdict, it caused outrage in the country, with a million people signing a petition against the imposed death sentences.
But unfortunately there was to be no reprieve and the two were sent to the gallows on January 9, 1923.
This 90 minute play, which unfortunately started 40 minutes late due to a defective light in the studio, was one of the most thought-provoking pieces of theatre I have ever seen.
The cast of Ivy Corbin who played Edith, Peyvand Sadeghian who played Freddy, Mark Knightley, who played Percy, Rose-Marie Christian the Prosecution and Harriet Madeley the Defence, were equally strong and vulnerable at the right times.
This new play re-examines the evidence and we must think how different it might have turned out if it had taken place today.
The guilty verdict has long been criticised but never overturned.
It was a very moving piece and one which will stay with me for a long time.
