What happens when those who are put into positions of care - like nurses and nannies - end up being the people who should fear the most? Presented by the The Laudanum Project, The Baby Farmer is storytelling at its most unsettling and grotesque with its exploration of infanticide - and a firm highlight at this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival. Set in London's East End in the 1870's, The Baby Farmer revolves around a mother and daughter, Winnifred Alcorn and Agatha May, who get caught up in the gruesome murders of a number of babies. What makes this story even more disturbing is that it is loosely based on fact, where in the late-Victorian era, women (baby farmers) would take custody of a baby or child in exchange for payment. One infamous baby farmer was Amelia Dyer who is regarded as one of the world's most prolific serial killers, said to be potentially responsible for up to 400 murders.
If that wasn't enough to creep you out, our storyteller, Alphonse Cheese-Probert, finishes the job. Dressed in tattered black clothes with a ghoulish appearance and eyes that take much courage to look into, he begins to relay the tale of Winnifred Alcorn. Nick Ravenswood's performance is flawless, with a magnificent transformation in speech, body language and movement. Each syllable of every word is carefully pronounced so as to create maximum tension and his silent pauses throughout give the audience just enough time for his vivid descriptions to sink in. His ability to capture an audience and retain their attention through nothing but his words is a sign of masterful storytelling.
