Rope

"The application of logic can lead us into strange passes..."

As resonant now as in 1929, Patrick Hamilton’s bleak exploration of the motiveless murder continues to evoke intrigue and revulsion in equal measure.

Inspired by the real-life exploits of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb – two wealthy Chicago students who kidnapped and savagely murdered the 14 year-old son of a local millionaire – the masterfully rendered Brandon and Granillo exact a similar operation on the streets of Mayfair, London. With the unwitting Ronald Kentley’s mangled remains stashed ‘safely’ in a chest, the duo invite his father round for supper…

‘Rope’ illuminates the inconspicuous dangers of forward-thinking scholarship, as Brandon and Granillo’s callous misinterpretation of Nietzsche’s potent Superman (Übermensch) Theory impels them to defy the law to devastating effect.

Such was the play’s success that Alfred Hitchcock turned it into a well-received film in 1948. In the years since, this chilling tale of haughty hubris has been subject to several television adaptations across the globe, along with numerous further stage reprisals.

The dark and intimate Bedlam Theatre lends itself perfectly to the piece; the Company’s predominantly student membership are expertly placed to depict the young and naïve scholars’ fatal quest for ‘knowledge’.