Jack the Ripper tour

Jack the Ripper Tour:

                The Jack the Ripper tour in the east end of London was a theatrical experience in many different ways. Although many might argue that a tour is not a theatrical experience I recognized several elements that made this event a dramatic performance. First, my group and I decided to go to on the night tour, which is intentionally delivered in the dark to set an eerie mood, which thus makes the tour parallel to the infamous murders. At the beginning of our tour the guide casually introduced himself, and the topic of conversation, along with a brief warning regarding gruesome pictures that would be shown. Our guide, James, was a young and energetic student, whose avid interest in the Jack the Ripper murders added to the experience of our tour. At this point, I also noticed the guide’s attire, which was another indication that this event was a in fact a theatrical performance; James wore: black slacks, a black coat, and a black top hat. This deliberate costume allowed us, the spectators, to realize that we were being taken out of our element and into the time of Jack the Ripper. As James began to speak to the audience, he jumped up onto a small ledge of a building, which allowed him to stand higher than the audience, thus making the ledge a natural stage. Additionally, James moved around pointing out certain features of the area surrounding us. As the guide described each murder his tone of voice changed in a way that created an eerie atmosphere and on some occasions a comedic relief. In addition, James rehearsed several lines that were obviously exhausted as a result of the countless times he had given the same tour. In fact, some of the jokes that were used to ease the feelings of fear in the audience seemed dry and unnatural. Throughout the entire tour James withheld information for different parts of the walk, which allowed me to understand this tour as a rehearsed theatrical performance. Another important feature of this tour, which heightened the experience, was the use of the portable projector. The portable projector allowed the audience to see what the mutilated bodies of the victims looked like after Jack the Ripper attacked them, as well as-letters, maps, and possible suspects surrounding the case. The bodies in the pictures show the direct incisions that the Ripper made on these victims.  The ability to access this evidence during an outdoor walk was significantly helpful because it allowed the viewers to really understand the severity of each attack, and associate the place with each victim. Unfortunately, due to competing tours, our experience was briefly sabotaged by another guide who deliberately led his group into an avoidable collision with our group. At the time this happened our guide was explaining a slide and was literally stopped by the other guide. Overall, the Jack the Ripper tour was very interesting and offered a lot of entertainment for a reasonable price- I would highly recommend it to anyone who stays in London.