Grave robbing was a real thing in Victorian times and not always for the very worst of reasons. Yes, the people who dealt in this trade were in it for the money and wouldn’t be considered reputable members of society.
But fresh corpses were often the only way the doctors and researchers could learn about anatomy or practice surgical techniques. And while removing a body from a grave was initially not illegal in itself, that changed following the infamous Burke and Hare case in which the enterprising pair in Edinburgh, Scotland, running low on cadavers started killing people to up their supply.
In The Body Snatcher by Kate Forgette – “inspired” by a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson — the ethics of going to a grave and digging up a corpse are intertwined with the story of a scientist desperately trying to save the life of his daughter. She has a heart condition, although whether it is the same as her mother died from is unclear.
David Rainey, a Julliard-trained actor now celebrating his 25th year as an Alley resident acting company member, plays Dr. Noakes, whose daughter Elizabeth (played by Alyssa Marek) is about 19 years old, he says.
“She doesn’t really know yet that she has the kind of heart condition that could kill her. Her mother died around the same age,” says Rainey. Noakes had taken notes during the days leading up to his late wife’s death and now he’s comparing those notes with his daughter’s condition.
“I’m a brilliant scientist. I’m at the top of my field in medicine , in particular the study of the heart and abnormalities of the heart. I’ve made a specialty of it because of issues I’ve had in my family,” he says.
“He’s trying to do heart transplants at a time when there really was no such thing., He’s desperate to find another heart so that when she does pass he can at least make an attempt to try to do a transplant.”
And that’s the reason he’s dealing with the body snatcher Fettes played by Brandon Hearnsberger.
Noake is also a university professor. “I have students I’m also trying to cultivate trying to build a mindset about pushing medicine past where it is. I’m also a very determined person because of the situation that I’m in. I’m very no nonsense, very much on a quest because the clock is ticking and if I don’t find a solution then she will expire and I won’t have any chance to help save her.”
There is a student who Noakes picks out as someone who could help him with the procedure, Rainey says. “He’s sort of the prize student of any of them out there. He also has all the sort of right credentials. He’s got lightning-fast hands and every physician who’s worked with him ends up praising him to the heavens.”
That student, Dr. John Brook played by Luis Quintero, “also had tragedy in his life, he’s lost his young sister recently which devastated him to the point where he felt like he needed to move.” As a result, he transferred to where Noakes is teaching.
The two doctors begin working together in Noke’s home lab to try to perfect the procedure. In due course, Dr. Brook and Elizabeth fall in love. “There’s two love stories going on. The love for a father and the daughter and the love story between the doctor and the daughter as well.”
Others in the cast include: Carolyn Johnson as Mrs. Keene who works in the lab and has a lot of medical knowledge, and Sophia Marcelle as A Young Girl. The Alley’s Associate Artistic Director Brandon Weinbrenner is directing.
Asked why he wanted to be in this two-act play which, of course, immediately evokes the Frankenstein story of a doctor also seeking to revitalize the dead, Rainey says:
“It’s exciting. It’s a thriller. Doctor Noakes is a great part. There’s a tremendous love story – a father’s love. And the passion he has to try to save her. It raises the question of what lengths would you go to in order to save the person you care about the most
“You know what’s right; you know what’s moral. You know what’s too far. But how close can you get to the edge of that? if you don’t act are you willing to let your daughter die?”
Adding to the spooky aspect is that the play is being presented in the downstairs more intimate Neuhaus Theatre. “And we have all kinds of cool effects. Body parts and blood. It should be a fun ride for an audience to take in this very British Victorian world.
“I think there could be one or 2 moments where whole audience could jump.”
Performances are scheduled for October 3-25 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays , 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and 7 p.m. Sundays at Alley Theatre’s Neuhaus Theatre, 615 Texas . For more information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheatre.org. $45-$74.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
