Anita Dobson: 'Making London Road was a strange piece of closure'

Anita Dobson plays June in London Road

The new musical film London Road, set at the time of the Ipswich serial murders in 2006, evokes vivid memories for cast member Anita Dobson.

The ex-EastEnders actress was in a pantomime in the Suffolk town when the murders were taking place.

The bodies of five women - all of them sex workers - were found near Ipswich over a 10-day period.

Dobson can clearly recall the atmosphere in the town. "The streets were deserted. You could walk home and not see a soul. The theatre got taxis to get the chorus girls home.

"It was very hard to get people to see a happy, family Christmas show when those poor prostitutes were being murdered.

"Once they'd found [the killer, Steve Wright], the streets filled up and people spilled on to them with a great sense of relief and joy."

The film is based on the 2011 hit stage musical at the National Theatre. Dobson plays June - one of the residents of London Road, who were shocked to find a serial killer was living in the community.

The London Road cast includes Olivia Colman (centre) and Anita Dobson (second from right)

The ensemble cast includes Olivia Colman, Tom Hardy, Rosalie Craig and Kate Fleetwood.

The film reunites the stage musical's original team - writer Alecky Blythe, musician Adam Cork and director Rufus Norris.

What makes London Road unusual is that it tells its story using only real dialogue spoken by people in Ipswich at the time, set to a musical score.

Blythe, who specialises in verbatim theatre, had gone to the town in the winter of 2006 after hearing reports that a serial killer was at large. The voices she recorded included those of local residents, sex workers and members of the media who reported the story and the subsequent murder trial.

She found a focus for the story when she read a local newspaper report about a resident, Julie (played by Colman), who had organised a floral competition on London Road in the aftermath of the murders.

Throughout the film shoot, Blythe ensured the actors kept to her verbatim script, which included all the original verbal tics.

"It's quite an odd form of theatre but strangely exhilarating," says Dobson. "When you've cracked it you feel very proud of yourself.

Tom Hardy as a taxi driver in London Road

"It has a strange rhythm to it because you don't just say the dialogue - you include every cough and long pause that's there."

While on set, Dobson also got to meet the real June - who died earlier this year - on whom her character was based.

Kate Fleetwood also appeared in the stage version of London Road and was nominated for an Olivier Award

"She was very vibrant - she always looked very neat and tidy, she smoked like a trooper. She had a joyous spirit."

As someone who was in Ipswich at the time, what did Dobson make of the musical treatment of such harrowing events?

"When I heard they were doing the stage musical I did think, 'Oh, is it not a bit too soon?' But what they did at the National Theatre was they invited in people who lived on that street so they could see what was going on. They were never kept out of the process."

What will audiences make of the film? "People are innately curious. A lot of people who went to the musical went to see it again. A lot have talked about what a cathartic experience it was. It shows people triumphing over adversity.

"For me doing the film was a strange piece of closure," Dobson adds. "It's incredibly moving - and you feel that out of something awful something good has come. The girls got off the streets and drugs and the area got cleaned up."

London Road premieres on 9 June via NT Live and is on general release on 12 June.

The story focuses on London Road resident Julie (Olivia Colman) who organises a floral contest