The Dylan Thomas Theatre, 2026: Holmes and The Ripper

Brian Clemens, Stephen Knight, and the Legacy of a Controversial Theory

Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution 1976 Stephen Knight

Dylan Thomas Theatre 

The 2026 production of Holmes and The Ripper at the Dylan Thomas Theatre revived Brian Clemens’s dramatic interpretation of one of the most enduring and contentious theories surrounding the Whitechapel murders. Clemens’s play draws directly upon Stephen Knight’s book Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution, which proposed an elaborate conspiracy involving the British royal family, Freemasonry, and the painter Walter Sickert. Knight argued that the Ripper murders were orchestrated to conceal a secret marriage between Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, and Annie Elizabeth Crook, a working‑class woman. In his narrative, the killings were carried out by Sir William Gull, assisted by the coachman John Netley. Over time, many aspects of Knight’s theory have been disproven, and his principal source, Joseph Gorman (also known as Joseph Sickert), eventually admitted publicly that the story was a hoax. Yet the theatricality of the theory, and its weaving together of Victorian personalities, continues to inspire dramatists, giving Clemens’s play its peculiar mixture of myth, speculation, and cultural fascination.

Holmes, the Ripper, and Swansea

The First Question: Was There Ever a Connection?

Arthur Conan Doyle

Before considering the themes of the play, it is natural to ask whether there was ever any meaningful connection between Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, and Swansea. To approach this question, it is necessary to understand why Arthur Conan Doyle himself came to Swansea, and how the cultural climate of the early twentieth century shaped that visit.

Arthur Conan Doyle and the Road to Swansea

Spiritualism After the First World War

In the aftermath of the First World War, Britain entered a period of profound collective mourning. By November 1918, Spiritualism experienced a dramatic resurgence as families devastated by the loss of sons, husbands, and brothers sought solace in the possibility of communication with the dead. Mediums, investigators, and public lecturers found renewed purpose as the nation searched for meaning amid its grief. Spiritualism became not merely a fringe belief but a significant cultural force, reflecting the emotional turbulence of a society trying to reconcile itself with unprecedented loss.

Conan Doyle’s Early Interest in the Occult

Arthur Conan Doyle’s interest in Spiritualism long predated this moment. As early as 1881, he attended a lecture on the subject, and by 1887 he was writing about séances in The Light, a spiritualist magazine. In 1893, he joined the Society for Psychical Research, whose members included Arthur Balfour, William James, Alfred Russel Wallace, William Crookes, and Oliver Lodge. His commitment deepened over the decades, and in October 1917 he delivered his first public lecture on Spiritualism, determined to present what he believed to be evidence “for the benefit of mankind.” Fully aware that his reputation would suffer, he nonetheless became one of the movement’s most outspoken advocates. His sincerity, gentle manner, and unwavering conviction made him an effective and widely respected speaker, even among sceptics.

Conan Doyle in Swansea, February 1919

The “Death and Hereafter” Tour at the Albert Hall

South Wales Daily Post

It was against this backdrop that Conan Doyle arrived in Swansea in February 1919, appearing at the Albert Hall as part of his Death and Hereafter tour. The South Wales Daily Post reported the event with evident curiosity and admiration, noting that it was believed to be his first visit to the town. The reporter observed that thousands had read his writings, particularly novels such as The White Company, yet few in Swansea had ever seen the celebrated author in person. The subject of “Death and the Hereafter” was described as one of particular fascination, especially when presented by such a “brilliant student of the occult sciences.” What Swansea audiences truly thought of Conan Doyle’s lecture remains unrecorded, but the tone of the reporting suggests a mixture of respect, curiosity, and perhaps a touch of wonder at seeing such a prominent figure address the city on so unusual a theme.

Walter Sickert and Swansea’s Ripper Connection

The Painter, the Myth, and the Bedroom in Manchester

Walter Sickert

The other thread linking Swansea to the Ripper narrative is the painter Walter Sickert, whose name has become entangled—fairly or unfairly—with the mythology surrounding the murders. Sickert took a personal interest in the crimes and believed he had once lodged in a room previously occupied by the killer. His landlady had told him that a mysterious lodger in 1881 had aroused her suspicions, and between 1905 and 1907 Sickert painted the room, titling the work Jack the Ripper’s Bedroom. The painting, now in the Manchester Art Gallery, depicts a dark, oppressive interior, its details deliberately obscured and its atmosphere heavy with unease.

A Suspect Dismissed, but a Swansea Link Preserved

La Nera 1903 Walter Sickert credit - Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea

For more than eighty years, Sickert was not considered a suspect, and only in the late twentieth century did some authors begin to speculate about his involvement. Most serious researchers dismiss the idea, as strong evidence places Sickert in France during much of 1888, the year of the canonical Ripper murders. Swansea’s connection lies in the fact that nine of Sickert’s paintings, including La Nera (1903), are held in the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, giving the city a quiet but intriguing link to one of the most debated figures in the Ripper mythology.