Was there ever a femme more fatale than Alma Rattenbury? This seductress of our foremost B.C. architect is depicted as never before in this new play by Joan Bryans.
Ebullient, vivacious, and charismatic, Alma sweeps Rattenbury off his feet. In a few years she, along with a 17 year old servant who is her lover, is accused of Rattenbury’s murder. An explosive trial follows at the Old Bailey with both Alma and her lover facing the death penalty.
By Some Divine Mistake focuses squarely on Alma herself. Before that fatal meeting with Rattenbury in the lounge of the Empress Hotel, she lived an adventurous but highly laudable life (receiving the Croix de Guerre for her WW1 work. What causes the spiral down to the dock at the Old Bailey? Her letters and her own, enormously successful, music gives us a clue. Her life is shaped by the aesthetic of the popular songs of the day - and all who become involved with her are molded in their light, and seduced by its appeal.
A theatre verbatim play, based almost entirely on documents from the period and Alma's songs.
Produced by Vital Spark Theatre, Vancouver BC, 2008
Keywords: Vancouver, murder, song writer, British Columbia
Genre: Drama, Play with Music, Mystery, Historical/Biography, Thriller
Acts: 2
Run time: 120 minutes
Suitable for students 14+
Cast size: 9 actors
Male roles: 14
Female roles: 11
Casting note: all actors except those playing Alma and her lover play several roles. Alma is in her 30's, Rattenbury, 40's. Stoner, her lover, young - 20-ish
"By Some Divine Mistake captures the imagination, because it is both titillating and true." -- rivetingriffs.com