Whether offering audience members free shots or displaying the bloody head of a goat onstage, Oxford’s drama scene has no shortage of eclectic, vibrant productions. A musical about Victorian London’s most infamous set of murders also falls under this description, and this summer it’s heading to the Fringe! JACK is a brand-new musical written by Sahar Malaika, with music by Sam Phillips, and directed by Rosie Sutton. Sitting down with Malaika and Sutton, we discussed the process of bringing this musical from page to stage to Fringe, and what they learned during it. Malaika offered practical tips on writing: “figure out the thing you’re using to procrastinate with.” Meanwhile, Sutton gave tips on how to make taking a show to the Fringe as stress-free and affordable as possible: “the first thing is to do it early.”
So, what’s JACK about?
JACK is a musical which puts the spotlight on the female victims of Jack the Ripper. According to Malaika, the show “follows Mary [Jane Kelly], who is historically Jack the Ripper’s last victim.” The musical begins with the story of Mary, “a very successful – if you can call it that – prostitute”, who is living in Miller’s Court with her partner John and a lady called Nell who she has taken in. “Parallel to that is Alfie, who’s this new detective and he’s determined to find the Ripper.” Alfie’s zeal to find Jack is inspired by the “Dear Boss” letter sent by Jack to the police – one of two letters which are considered as being genuinely from him. A police search for Jack commences: they start by talking to prostitutes, and Alfie meets Mary. “They talk to each other and – I’m not going to spoil it – but they get closer and closer to figuring out who Jack is. That’s what you find out at the end”, where the musical embraces its “serial killer-y, Sherlock-y vibes.”
Malaika credits two main sources of inspiration when writing the script for this musical. “I, like many people, had studied Jack the Ripper for their GCSEs and I was fascinated by it. I love London and I love crime stories, but this was one specifically that took me in – because I thought it was incredible that they hadn’t found him.” She also drew inspiration from “musicals like Chicago, where you have this true account of what women were going through at the time made into this musical that is kick-arse and very impactful, showing their power at a time where they [women] don’t have very much.”
For Malaika, it is important to highlight the stories of the women often sidelined in discussions of this violent serial killer: “I wanted people actually to have a look into what was going on – why, not only, it was so impactful, but what women were actually going through at the time.” She stresses the necessity of portraying this topic sensitively, opting to have a strong female lead – who is directly affected by the events – driving much of the story. “What I’ve tried to do is have quite a large chunk of it where Mary herself is speaking on behalf of these women. She’s very much of the opinion that Alfie, the detective, needs to know what’s going on. There’s no way that he can solve the case without not only sympathising with these women but actually facing the reality of what they’re going through.”
How do you go about writing a show?
This is the first full script that Malaika has written, and she speaks warmly of her collaboration with Phillips, who wrote the music for JACK. “I started with the script, and then from the structure we decided where we wanted the songs. So, [while I was writing], Sam, next to me, would be writing structures and he’d come up with riffs and the backbone of the song, essentially. And then, once I’d come up with the full script, even though it wasn’t the final draft, we could discuss: ‘this is the dialogue that we want in the songs.’ From that point, Sam continued on his own and wrote through all the songs but every time he wrote lyrics, he would share them with me, and I’d have a say. He was definitely the lead on the music and I was definitely the lead on the script. But I think, in many ways, we had a really nice crossover.”
Malaika reveals that beginning with a firm structure was essential, but realised it was the hardest part of the process. “The process was that of coming up with the beginning – and where I wanted it to end. So, I bookended this in my mind and I went: ‘this is how I want the story to go.’” Collaboration was crucial here, too: “Sam and I together got loads of post-its and wrote scenes that we wanted to kind of happen in between, ordered them, and then put songs in between. And then from that point, it’s literally a matter of having that structure in front of me and just writing.”
As for how she has learned to manage procrastination, Malaika’s advice is to “figure out the thing you’re using to procrastinate with. Mine is that I love a TV show, or a Netflix binge. But you have to say to yourself ‘I absolutely cannot do this til I have written ten pages today, or something. Give yourself that boundary.” Above all, it’s important to get words on paper, even if they feel terrible, “because it will always be a first draft. At least you’ve actually written something. And then by the end of it, it’s so much nicer to say: ‘I have written it’ than to say: ‘oh, I’ve thought about writing this thing.’ Likewise, even saying: ‘I am writing it’ is better than saying: ‘oh, I’ve thought of writing a script.’”
Malaika also discussed her battle with (writers’) imposter syndrome. “I was a very scared writer. I think one thing people in general will be frightened of is whether what they’re writing is worth writing.” Her advice is “just do it, just start, because once you get past the point of thinking ‘I don’t have a right to do this’ you will find so much freedom.”
Ok, so you have your show. Now, how do you take it to the Fringe?
Sutton’s key advice was to “do it early. Something that we found challenging was that we tried to start sorting out Fringe in – I think March? And the response we got was ‘this is very late in the day’ but we had no idea – we had no sense of when ‘late in the day’ was. You can register your shows from as early as December or January. You can start looking for venues and accommodation even earlier – accommodation is another absolute nightmare, so definitely do it as soon as possible.”
Starting with a venue and accommodation is essential. “Accommodation is probably going to cost you the most – and it gets booked up really quickly. After that, then you get to do the fun stuff: you know, if it’s a show you’ve already rehearsed, how are you going to change it? Or, if it’s a show you haven’t rehearsed yet, what changes do you need to have in mind while you’re making it? We’re currently rehearsing Jack for a thrust space (so there’s an audience on three sides) but our venue at the Fringe is end-on.”
Sutton’s top tip for finding a venue: “try a lot of different places, be pushy about it – if there’s an option to email, versus fill in a little form on the website, always email.”
“We were really lucky, in that the second place we tried got back to us. I think Greenside and The Space are particularly open to student shows (we’re in The Space).” She also advises being “open-minded about not getting exactly what you imagined. It might be that your timeslot is a bit weird or that you’ve got a smaller stage. We had to sacrifice the size and configuration of the stage for the timeslot. We could have had a bigger stage early in the morning, but our time slot is at 7pm, which is obviously great.”
It’s also worth bearing in mind that the venue “wanted the turnaround of the decision quite quickly. We had to get back to them by that afternoon – so suddenly it all became very real. I think you just have to be ready to take these opportunities when they come to you.”
What about funding?
Whilst some of the funding for JACK is coming from the show’s profits in Oxford, Sutton also advised approaching colleges for funding. “College arts funds are a great place to go, and a lot of people don’t know about them. [St] Hilda’s [Sutton’s college] doesn’t have an arts fund, but we have money that is available – so always bug your colleges about random pots of money that they might have. We also started a GoFundMe that we’re sending round and we’re going to try to do a cabaret later in this term to raise funds.”
They also recommend applying to OUDS funding. “Something I didn’t know about is that the CMDF [Cameron Mackintosh Drama Fund] which runs all the drama funds has a Fringe funding budget – so you can apply specifically for Fringe funding which is great. You can also apply for a personal grant from them. Everyone is entitled in a year for up to £250! It’s brilliant and I didn’t know about it at all [before this show]. So that’s great if you need to cover your living expenses. The Fringe is amazing but so expensive – so I don’t know why this funding isn’t talked about more!”
Are there any other practicalities?
For Sutton, another major element to consider when bringing a show to the Fringe is the set: “because it’s quite possible that you won’t be able to leave big set pieces – or any set pieces – in your venue, so you may have to be carrying costume and set into the city centre every day. Ask yourself: ‘how am I going to pare that back; what’s that going to look like; is what I’ve got for the show transportable?’ Luckily our set’s quite pared back anyway, but if you’re trying to take a Playhouse show up, that’s not as portable.”
“On top of that, you need to be able to get up to Edinburgh in the first place – how are you getting up to Edinburgh, can anyone in your cast drive? Is anyone taking the train? Is anyone flying? There are all these random logistics that you don’t necessarily anticipate.”
As well as moving the set, how the actors move may also be subject to change. “Re-blocking is something that has been constantly in the back of my mind,” Sutton muses. “If I’m doing something quite complicated and immersive because I’ve got the actors going round the audience, I’m thinking: ‘how can I still get that same effect later without the capabilities of the venue that we have in Oxford.’ Don’t leave that decision to the last minute.” Then comes the related question of when to rehearse.“If you’ve done the show in February and are taking it up to the Fringe in August, you need to remind the cast of what’s happening.”
Another consideration is: “do you need to take a stage manager; do you need to take a lighting operator; a sound operator, or is that someone your venues can offer for you – would you need to pay for that?” Thankfully, the stress of this seems to be reduced, as “luckily, there’s a huge Oxford contingent at the Fringe this year and everyone is borrowing from everyone else’s shows, which is quite wholesome!”
Speaking with both Sutton and Malaika, I was blown away by the dedication, care, and sheer force of will that goes into bringing a show from initial script idea to performance at the Fringe and I wish them all the best for the production.
[This interview was condensed and edited for clarity].
[JACK, a new musical by Sahar Malaika and Sam Phillips, directed by Rosie Sutton and produced by Not A Plot Productions, will be running at St Benet’s Hall, Wed 14 May – Sat 17 May, 3rd week]