The Witchfinder's Sister, originally a book by Beth Underdown that was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, was adapted for the stage by Vickie Donoghue and is being shown at Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch. This Thursday night was our first outing to the theatre since the outbreak of coronavirus in March 2020. We opted for a socially distanced seating evening.
It was totally fitting for Halloween season. We sat at the edge of our seats as the moody stage design and atmospheric music brought us into the beginning of the play.
Picture Essex in 1645, specifically Manningtree. The whole atmosphere has the audiences blood turning to ice. After the tragic accidental death of her husband, Alice Hopkins heads back to the small town she grew up in, home to her brother and the secrets that surrounded their childhood.
Alice discovers that the dark fearful atmosphere in town is down to her brother who has changed radically. A reign of hysterical terror abounds.
Alice desperately tries to discover what compels the obsessively cruel Witchfinder General, before more innocent women are found guilty.
Alice is a fictional sister but sadly her brother, Matthew Hopkins existed and much is written about him. Matthew was born in Great Wenham, Suffolk and didn't actually move to Manningtree until later. His father was a puritan clergyman and vicar of St. John's of Great Wenham in the 1600's, one who would spout his teachings of fire and brimstone.
Tears were rolling down my cheeks at times throughout the play for the injustices that those women suffered at the hands of a zealous and cold-hearted man. This made me feel so sad for the struggle of women throughout most of history, that still happens, thankfully at a lesser extent, in the world today. The acting was brilliant, especially of the character, Alice, played by Lily Knight, who has mastered physical theatre performance beautifully. Matthew Hopkins, who was played by George Kemp made me shudder, this self-righteous character who had twisted the teachings of his father into a hateful, fervant dominancy had far too much power!
This play is a must see and has been running since the 7th of October and goes on to the 30th of October. Nearly half the evenings are full capacity, the other half are socially distanced. As we arrived into the theatre our temperature was taken, we each wore a mask and were advised to wear them throughout the show but it was an option. We arrived about twenty minutes before the show began and put up our hand to attract a member of the theatre staff and opted for our choices from a menu that was previously put on the seat. There was also an app you could order from. It's important to arrive in good time to order your refreshments as the next time you are allowed to order is in the interval.
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