London Road film 2015 ★★★★★

A verbatim musical based on the real life spate of murders in a sleepy Suffolk town – London Road was certainly an unlikely hit. But the bold play was a runaway success with two sellout runs, a critics circle award for 'best new musical' and now a film adaptation.
London Road: real story
Comprised solely of verbatim material collected and edited by playwright  Alecky Blythe and then made into songs by Adam Cork and directed by the National Theatre's Rufus Norris, London Road is a story of shock and recovery. While the play's programming was met with some trepidation back in 2011 (was is cashing in on a tragedy? Would it exploit the murdered prostitutes?) it was soon evident that the focus on the community revealed a touching story of the way in which tragic crime has a ripple effect on those surrounding it. Merging a sense of suspicion with a universal dose of small town camaraderie and songs about hanging baskets, this musical is as heart-warming as it is thought-provoking. 

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From stage to screen: London Road movie
The stars from the London Road play return for the film adaptation and are joined by more British talent to make up a star-studded ensemble cast: Kate Fleetwood, Olivia Coleman, Anita Dobson and Tom Hardy all just some of the stars. For what playwright turned screenwriter Alecky Blythe describes as 'sensitivity reasons' London Road was not filmed in the Ipswich streets that it depicts. But the visuals of front gardens, buses and market squares work well to evoke the sense of universality, that such events could happen anywhere. The increased action of a film means that some of the dialogue is lost, but fans of the musical will not be disappointed and the new film version still resonates both as a depiction of real life and an example of the ways in which the musical genre can enlighten even the darkest of subjects.