By OLIVIA THOMAS
A PLAY, WRITTEN BY one of
Lothian’s most respected senior
police officers is to get a
posthumous premiere, The
Edinburgh Reporter can reveal.
The late Peter Ritchie was in
early discussions to bring his play,
The Confession, to the Edinburgh
Fringe Festival in 2021 when he
was unexpectedly diagnosed with
an aggressive cancer that robbed
him of the chance.
The Confession, a gripping
insight into the “Jigsaw Murders”
of the infamous Dr Buck Ruxton,
in the 1930s, is set in Ruxton’s
prison cell the night before his
execution by hanging on 12 May
1936, aged just 37.
Born Bukhtyar Chompa
Rustomji Ratanji Hakim, the
Indian-born physician, who
adopted the name Buck Ruxton
on coming to the UK, was
convicted for the murders of his
common-law wife, Isabella, and
their Edinburgh-born housemaid,
Mary Jane Rogerson, at his home
in Lancaster, England, in
September 1935.
The case, which also became
known as the Bodies Under the
Bridge case due to the location in
the Scottish Borders where
Ruxton disposed of his victim’s
body parts, was one of the most
publicised murder cases of the
1930s and advanced early forensic
techniques significantly.
Now Liam Rudden, Artistic
Director of Stageworks East West,
who was working with Ritchie on
the project at the time of his
passing, has been given
permission by Ritchie’s family to
continue producing the piece as a
tribute to the popular police
officer and crime-writer.
He said: “Late last year, I came
across the script in a pile of papers
and realised I really had to try and
fulfil Peter’s wish to get it staged. I
wanted to pay tribute to Peter’s
memory and what better way than
that by completing the project we
started back in 2021.
“With the help of his former
police colleague, Tom Wood, who
has also written a book on the
Ruxton murders, I contacted
Peter’s daughter, Claire, and asked
the family’s permission to pursue
the project. I was delighted when
they gave it their blessing.”
In his time as a senior police
officer, Ritchie worked on many
high-profile investigations
including The World’s End
Murders, the brutal killing of
Sheila Anderson in 1983 and the
disappearance and murder of
Portobello schoolgirl Caroline
Hogg.
Born into a Musselburgh fishing
family in 1949, Ritchie only joined
the police force after a decade
working on the family’s fishing
fleet. He quickly rose through the
ranks, joining CID and later
becoming head of the Organised
Crime Unit in the National
Criminal Intelligence Service inLondon, and then UK liaison
officer to Europol in The Hague.
As a novelist, Ritchie created
the Detective Grace Macallan
series, which ran to six volumes,
as well as a number of stand-alone
stories. He died on 3 December
2021, survived by wife, Agnes,
children, Peter and Claire, and
grandchildren, Nancy and Angus.
Rudden added: “Peter was a real
family man, he was always talking
about his grandkids when we’dcatch up over a coffee. It was
during one of those meetings that
he handed me a copy of The
Confession and asked me to read
it.
“I was hooked within a couple
of pages. Peter had a great way of
capturing characters, of making
their dialogue natural and
unforced. It’s also a fascinating
story with a clever twist, or maybe
sting in the tail is a better
description.
“As a big fan of Peter’s novels
and with huge respect for his often
harrowing work as a police officer,
I’m honoured that his family have
trusted me to give his play its
world premiere. There’s a lot of
work to do still, and while the
hope is to stage it at the 2024
Edinburgh Fringe, putting
together the funding to do so in
the current climate may delay it
until next year.”99
Funding sought to honour ex-cop author
TOP CHEF TOM KITCHIN has cooked up
a special dinner to raise funds for
neighbouring Leith charity the Citadel
Youth Centre.
The event to support the charity, which
provides play, activities and educational
opportunities for children aged 6-18, was
held in the Commercial Street youth club
on 29 February.
Tom Kitchin and his staff were
supported by some of the Citadel
youngsters who applied to be part of the
event, and previously completed an
interview process and picked up new
skills in the Michelin-starred restaurant’s
kitchen and front of house.
Tom Kitchin said: “Hopefully this may
also inspire some youngsters to be part of
our hospitality industry going forward as
we have seen some great talent and
commitment.
“Citadel Youth Centre plays an
important role in our local Edinburgh
neighbourhood and has helped many
people over the years.
“Sadly, with recent grant cuts and
financial challenges it’s more important
than ever that the Citadel will be able to
continue its great work.
“I would like to give a big shout out to
local hero and Citadel manager Willy
Barr. Willy’s incredible passion and
dedication to these young people is quite
something and he deserves all the
recognition he could get.”
The Citadel ‘s annual support of
£175,000 from City of Edinburgh Council
has now been slashed to just £50,000.Anyone wishing to donate or contribute to
supporting The Citadel can do so at^
http://www.friendsofcitadel.org.ukKitchin plates up
for charity dinner
Peter’s play
to be staged
The late Peter RitchieOnly
£
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