January 15th, 1947 – the mutilated body of a young woman was found in an abandoned lot. It became one of the most famous unsolved cases in true crime history. This is the setting for a one of the highlights of this year’s Brighton Fringe, and it has caught out attention!

Elizabeth Short believed in the inherent goodness of people even when she had been given so many reasons not to. She moved freely around the world knowing that the universe would catch her if she fell. Until it didn’t. A gruesome unsolved murder, a young woman dead before her prime, reborn as an icon known as ‘The Black Dahlia’. After years of media speculation and true crime podcasts, The Black Dahlia has never been able to tell her own story. That is, until tonight.

Part chilling mystery, part experimental cabaret, “The Dahlia Files” grapples with the ethics behind the recent boom in true crime entertainment. It explores the commercialisation of violence and gore, and the dehumanising impact on victims and their families.
The play promises to be unnerving, darkly funny, and probing, we just hope there won’t be too much blood to mop up afterwards!
This play is being brought to us by ‘Hey Thanks! Theatre Collective’, a queer and women-led theatre company focusing on the importance of collective collaboration. Performances are at the Lantern Theatre, Brighton on:
May 15th – 5.00 pm
May 16th – 5.00 pm
May 17th – 5.00 pm
May 19th – 5.00 pm
Tickets are available at Brighton Fringe for £10.







