A haunting chapter of Ipswich history is providing the inspiration for a new locally written musical, with Ipswich Orpheus Chorale preparing to bring Raven’s Requiem to the stage over Halloween weekend.
Writer Jacq joined West Bremer Radio’s Get Your Arts Into Gear to preview the production, which combines an original story inspired by the lost graves associated with the Goodna asylum with contemporary songs, colourful characters and plenty of supernatural intrigue.
The production will run from Friday, October 30 to Sunday, November 1, with both traditional theatre and theatre restaurant performances planned.
“It’s based on the lost graves of the Goodna Asylum. It’s inspired by that,” Jacq said.
“And then obviously with a lot of artistic liberty applied — and a sprinkling of songs.”
Ipswich history meets supernatural mystery
Rather than setting the musical in the past, Jacq has placed the story in the modern day.
At its centre is a reporter named Kate, who is chasing a lead connected to the fictional Ravens Hill Asylum.
Kate is invited to Ravens Hill House, a property next door to the asylum, by its owner John Raven, who claims to have information that could help her investigation.
It soon emerges that Raven has his own motivation — he is searching for the grave of his wife, who was among the last people taken to the asylum.
From there, Kate encounters an unusual collection of characters, “some less alive than others”, while uncovering disturbing details about the asylum.
“She also uncovers a lot of really big things about the asylum, and that really mirrors what happened out at Goodna Asylum with some of the treatment of patients and the neglect and things like that,” Jacq said.
While Ipswich history provides the inspiration, Jacq stressed that Raven’s Requiem was not intended as a factual recreation.
“I definitely wouldn’t say it’s based on [fact],” she said.
“There’s a little bit of elaboration there.”
Ghost tour planted the seed
The idea began to develop after Jacq worked as a tour guide on Jack Sim’s Goodna Cemetery Ghost Tours.
She said hearing the stories while standing near the memorial to the lost graves at night gave the history a different impact.
“That’s where that story kind of gripped me,” she said.
“When you’re there and you’re looking at the memorial of the lost graves and you’re hearing some of the specific stories, and it’s nighttime and it’s a bit spooky, it all kind of comes alive.”
Those experiences eventually became the starting point for the fictional world of Ravens Hill.
From Thriller to Pink
While the subject matter can be heavy, the production will balance its darker story with plenty of music and energy.
The soundtrack includes familiar songs such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Poor Unfortunate Souls from The Little Mermaid, *The Sound of Silence and Pink’s Funhouse.
“It is a high-energy show,” Jacq said.
“It has to be to balance quite a heavy story. So, yeah, you get a little bit of everything with this one.”
The production also includes around 10 children in the cast, with Jacq saying the younger performers were bringing plenty of additional energy to the show.
Halloween weekend performances
Raven’s Requiem opens on Friday, October 30, with that night’s performance presented as a traditional theatre show.
The remainder of the weekend moves into theatre restaurant mode, with matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday and an additional Saturday night performance.
Audiences attending the theatre restaurant sessions will receive a meal, with the catering once again being handled by Nicola Lang.
Jacq said the food would keep with the spooky theme of the production.
Tickets are already available through TryBooking, with separate booking options for the Friday theatre performance and the theatre restaurant sessions across the remainder of the weekend.
Local writing comes alive on stage
For Jacq, one of the most rewarding parts of the project has been watching something she wrote develop into a full-scale local production.
She said hearing the cast perform the script for the first time was an emotional experience.
“The first read-through with our cast — and our cast is phenomenal — I really liked the characters when I wrote them, and then this cast just took them somewhere else,” she said.
“I was on the verge of tears at the read-through because it’s just so great, and I didn’t think it would get here. And it’s such an important story to tell.”
Jacq said the opportunity demonstrated one of the strengths of Ipswich’s local arts scene — people with an idea can put their work forward and potentially see it brought to life.
“I’m not a writer,” she said.
“Anyone can put something forward and have it picked up. It’s just such a cool opportunity I didn’t think I’d ever have.”
More Orpheus productions ahead
There will be little downtime for Ipswich Orpheus following Raven’s Requiem, with the group moving into its Christmas program before preparing for next year’s eisteddfod season.
Another familiar production is also returning, with The Vicar of Dibley Christmas Special added to the program for next year following the success of the group’s previous Vicar of Dibley production.
For now, however, the focus is firmly on Halloween weekend and bringing a spooky, Ipswich-inspired story to life with Raven’s Requiem.
Tickets for Friday 30th October
Tickets for the Rest of the season
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