VINTAGE
After landing an audition for a Victorian period drama, a hapless actress must find the perfect costume.
But her search puts her on a deadly collision course with one of history’s most notorious killers.
Aspiring actress, Amelia, dreams of making the big time. But dreams don’t pay the rent so she spends her days ushering tourists through gloomy London backstreets on a walking tour of Jack the Ripper’s infamous crime scenes—hoping all the while to win that elusive big break.
With mounting bills and dwindling finances, Amelia finds hope when she lands an audition for the role of ‘maid’ in period drama, The Estate. It’s not much, but it’s a start. Only there’s a catch—she’s to provide her own costume.
Determined to give it her best shot, Amelia heads off in search of the perfect outfit. Her search takes her to Kane’s Vintage, a backwater nook of antique curiosities staffed by the elderly proprietor, Francis Kane, and his enigmatic nephew, Rufus.
Eager to assist, they furnish her with a genuine Victorian maid’s uniform and direct her to a changing stall. Putting on the dress, Amelia is shocked to suddenly find herself in an unfamiliar house, surrounded by strangers—as if transported to the past.
In a panic, she runs only to knock her head and wake up back in the changing stall. Dazed and confused, Amelia flees home to roommate Lucy:
INT. FLAT – NIGHT
Amelia is pacing the floor when the front door opens and an exhausted Lucy walks in.
Amelia is flustered and edgy.
AMELIA
Thank God you're home.
Something's happened. Something weird.
Super weird. You won't believe it.
LUCY
(sarcastically)
You've found a job that you can actually stick at and pay me?
AMELIA
Shut up and listen.
I found this little vintage shop.
Y'know Edward Street, Whitechapel?
They were selling a maid's uniform so I was
trying it on when I had ... it was like ...
I was there In the past. I was a Victorian maid.
For real. But it wasn't me. It’s as if I'd taken
over whoever owned the dress.
Lucy looks at Amelia with a stoic, cynical expression. Then snorts dismissively.
LUCY
Great story Meels. You're so full of shit.
Lucy trudges off and dumps her bag on the kitchen counter then walks over and collapses into the sofa, picks up the remote and flicks the TV on. Amelia pursues her.
AMELIA
No joke. I swear.
When I put it on I was in a kitchen,
getting shouted at and surrounded by weirdos.
It was as real as I'm standing here now.
LUCY
Where is it? This uniform.
AMELIA
I-I freaked out and left it in the shop.
Then I ran home. It was bloody terrifying Luce.
LUCY
(sarcastically)
Well, if I were you I'd get that dress back,
go back to Victorian times and observe them.
For your audition. You'll be so authentic
they wouldn't be able to turn you down this time.
Amelia considers Lucy's suggestion thoughtfully. A light bulb moment.
Surely she imagined it all. It’s nothing more than an old dress…
But what if it isn’t?
And what if Lucy has a point?
What better way to nail the audition and land her break than walk in the shoes of a real life Victorian maid?
…It’s just a dress; couldn’t hurt to try, right?
Mike Underwood’s Vintage weaves one of histories most infamous figures into a dark tale of ambition and mystery with a bloody twist. Featuring several locations and a range of characters, this short script is for an aspiring filmmaker looking to take their craft to the next level where truth and fantasy collide in a unique re-imaging of historical events.