The Thrill of Love

On Easter Sunday, 1955, Ruth Ellis shot dead her lover, David Blakely outside a pub in Hampstead, North London. She pleaded Not Guilty, but no real defence was offered at her trial. Ruth was found guilty at the Old Bailey and sentenced to death. On 13th July 1955, she became the last woman in Great Britain to be hanged.

But where did she get the gun she used to shoot Blakely? How did she get to Hampstead that day? And can she have been in any way justified in trying to end an abusive and controlling relationship by any means? The case and sentencing aroused strong emotions in the general public, and the newspapers of the time took up the question of whether hanging was just, not only in this case, but at all in the United Kingdom.

This wonderful drama, written by Amanda Whittington (of Ladies’ Day fame) and published in 2013 by courtesy of Nick Hern books, takes a fresh look at the life of Ruth Ellis; a mother of two, who found some money, choice and independence in hosting at nightclubs in London in the 1950s, but whose weakness for the wrong sorts of men bought only diminishing choices and increasing desperation.

The Thrill of Love shows at the Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, School Rd, Monkton Heathfield, Taunton TA2 8PD from the 17th -19th May. Box Office: 01823 414141

Doors open at 6.45pm and the show commences at 7.30pm Tickets are £12