(In which a shocking discovery is made in West Port, Edinburgh, the repellant nature and lurid details of which stun and shock the city to its very core) “...a most extraordinary circumstance that took place on Friday night, the 31s t October 1828, in a House in the West Port, Edinburgh, where an old Woman of the name of Campbell is supposed to have been Murdered, and her Body Sold to a Medical Doctor.” - Edinburgh Broadsheet 3r d of November, 1828 “Up the close and doun the stair But and been with Burke and Hare Burke's the butcher, Hare's the thief Knox the boy that buys the beef” - 19t h century Edinburgh skipping rhyme Hare: Follow me to my humble lodging What's mine is yours, such as it may be Dr. Knox: Enjoy the hospitality, soon you'll be cold dead anatomy Hare: Along the narrow, crooked wynd Then through the close, this house you'll find Dr. Knox: So many honored guests to fete, always an empty bed to let Chorus: A funeral party Hare: Drink up, the hour is growing late Chorus: A funeral party Dr. Knox: The fete will end when you meet your fate Hare: Here you may rest from your journeys And warm your bones with a dram of whiskey Dr. Knox: Drink to what's left of your health, soon you'll be another corpse to sell Hare: Intoxicated, the room starts to spin And at that moment our night work begins Dr. Knox: Quietly asphyxiate, you see your end, but far too late Chorus: A funeral party Burke: Drink up, the hour is growing late Chorus: A funeral party Dr. Knox: S tuff the carcass in a crate Narrator: All revels must come to their end So for the constable the tenants send False friends meet most unpleasant ends The corpus delicti now made evident Solo – Matthew Harvey Solo – Michael Burke Solo – Matthew Harvey Chorus: A funeral party Burke: Step inside and have a quaff Chorus: A funeral party Hare: Where guests soon shuffle off Chorus: A funeral party Narrator: Protests of innocence rebuffed Chorus: A funeral party Narrator: The life of the party - snuffed