An unflinching, graphic, often quite funny and sometimes heartbreaking musical suite that explores the hardscrabble lives of women at the dawn of the industrial revolution. Calgary Herald

 

It has been estimated that by the mid 1800s at least one in five women would have had some experience in  prostitution. To be a single woman without means in 19th century England was truly an occupational hazard. With few job opportunities, apart from working as  poorly-paid servants and chambermaids, the road to Nightingale Alley was inevitable.

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Based on the lyrics of anonymous underground poets- a cavalcade of saucy ballads, wicked parodies and raucous catcalls- they are, for the most part, songs written by and about prostitutes. The original melodies to these lyrics are long lost and so composer David Rhymer has written new melodies - re-imagining each of them for a contemporary audience.