Fringe Review: The Incident Room ****

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40 years on the case of the Yorkshire Ripper still fascinates and horrifies

The Incident Room **** (Pleasance), until August 26, 4:30pm 
Some crimes still have the power to shock, and captivate, decades down the line.

The Incident Room  steps back over 40 years to 1975 and the police investigation into the Yorkshire Ripper - and it is compelling and powerful.

Even on its preview night it ha d near full house and earned a standing ovation. You cannot ask for  a better start to any Fringe run.

The play is set in the Milgarth incident room early in the reign of terror of the Ripper. 

The place, and its officers, are under intense pressure as the death toll rises, and it’s clear their system of checking, cross-checking and filing and indexing everything completely swamps them.

Working round the clock they spend so much time haring dow cul-de-sacs and, of course, are de-railed by the infamous hoax letters and tape recording which convinced them the Ripper was a Geordie.


The cast are superb - some play multiple roles - and the script excellent., and not a second of the 90 minutes on stage are wasted.

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