London Road is Alecky Blythe and Adam Cork’s Olivier Award-nominated verbatim musical, which stunned critics and audiences with its tale of a town’s fight to recover from the effects of a serial killer.

London Road is set in the autumn of 2006, when the everyday life of the quiet rural town of Ipswich was shattered by the discovery of the bodies of five women.

The residents of London Road had struggled for years with the soliciting and kerb-crawling that they frequently encountered. As Steve Wright, the occupant of No. 79, was arrested, charged and then convicted of the murders, the immediate community grappled with what it meant to be at the epicentre of this tragedy.

Cork uses the melodic and rhythmic speech patterns captured on playwright Blythe’s extensive recorded interviews with the people of Ipswich to create an experimental and challenging work which reveals the ways in which even the darkest experiences can engender a greater sense of our mutual dependence.

London Road was originally performed in the National’s Cottesloe theatre, but following its incredible reception and success, it moves for a summer season in the larger Olivier theatre.

Looking to see some musical theatre? Find out more about London musicals.