The Man They Couldn't Hang: A Tale of Murder, Mystery and CelebrityA play in two Acts with an Introduction by the author. The story of John 'Babbacombe' Lee is one of the most bizarre in English criminal history. Lee is the only person to have been reprieved by a Home Secretary after standing on a gallows trap which failed to open. This happened at Exeter Prison in 1885 when the notoriously inept public hangman James Berry gave up after three abortive attempts. Lee spent 22 years in prison before being released. On retirement, Berry from Heckmondwike, Yorkshire, who carried out 134 executions, was the first executioner to write about his experiences in My Experiences As An Executioner. His resulting celebrity led to him taking to the boards, spinning gruesome tales of his former trade and showing audiences his dark souvenirs. Michael Crowley's imaginative play is set in a down-at-heel northern music hall where the proprietor is bent on reviving the venue's glory days by persuading the now released Lee to team up with Berry in a double act. Did John Lee commit the murder for which he was due to hang? Did poetic justice intervene on that fateful day in Exeter to prevent a miscarriage of justice? Will Lee stand on the scaffold once again with the noose around his neck, on stage and for the paying public? And will the truth come out or not as Lee begins to confide in the woman designated as leading lady during rehearsals? 'The Man They Couldn't Hang' by prison writer in residence Michael Crowley is an ideal vehicle for raising issues of crime and punishment. It will be particularly useful for drama groups in and out of prison, and tutors or group leaders seeking innovative ways of involving those they work with in issues of criminal justice and crime and punishment. The play is also suitable for full-scale drama productions. |
Contents
| vi | |
| vii | |
| xvi | |
| xvii | |
| 19 | |
Scene One | 21 |
Scene Two | 47 |
Scene Three | 53 |
Act II | 103 |
Scene Seven | 105 |
Scene Eight | 113 |
Scene Nine | 123 |
Scene Ten | 127 |
Scene Eleven | 133 |
Scene Twelve | 143 |
On Being a Writer in Residence in a Prison | 151 |
Other editions - View all
The Man They Couldn't Hang: A Tale of Murder, Mystery and Celebrity Michael Crowley Limited preview - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
Abolitionists Ain't it grand alright audience bell Berry pulls Berry takes bloody bloomin Call You Sweetheart capital punishment chaplain dead Devon diya doin double act Douglas's dreamt dressing room drop Duggie dunno Emma Keyse EVELYN execution executioner Exit Fawcett feel gallows gonna hand hangman happened head hear HENRY Holgate Home Secretary innocent jail James Berry John Babbacombe Lee John Lee lads Lancaster Farms Lee’s Let Me Call Lizzie Madam Tussaud manikin Michael Crowley Miss Keyse murder music hall neck never newspaper night Pause Pause-one beat Pause-two beats perform piano Picture house play prison pulled the lever punters rehearsal RESTORATIVE JUSTICE rope scaffold Scarborough Scene Secures the noose sing someone stage stand story strapped talk tell There's thought trap doors trial tried to hang turn walks warders WATERSIDE PRESS What's Whilst writing Young Offender Institution