UWinnipeg Theatre Students Explore Witchcraft

Vinegar Tom is a direct and uncompromising drama mixed with outrageous comedy and irreverent song. Written in 1976, Vinegar Tom explores gender and power through the lens of the 17th century. Focused on the tail end of the witch craze, after 100,000 supposed witches had been murdered, Vinegar Tom is a powerful play about witches without any witches. Instead, Churchill crafts a thought-provoking exploration of how, in times of stress, society’s misfits are convenient scapegoats.

Set in a time where every woman was suspect, Vinegar Tom explores the real cause of the witch hunts. When cattle get sick and crops fail the beggar woman, the neighbour who rejected the farmer’s advances, a woman healer and a woman who had an abortion are accused of witchcraft. The play looks at who these women really were and explores poverty, humiliation and prejudice.

“Through the use of a chorus and drawing on the cast’s musical abilities, we have set out to link historical witch hunts with examples of scapegoating in today’s society,” says director Hope McIntyre. “Churchill uses her work to make us question our society and this piece has challenged us to take a closer look at persecution in our own world. Through research and exploration with the cast, we have found numerous examples of continued oppression of women, minorities and the poor. We’ve had to ask ourselves, which one of us would be accused as a witch today? We want the audience to laugh at Churchill’s biting humour, enjoy the fabulous music and keen writing but to also recognize the parallels in their own lives.”

This is the first time the Honours Program has formally participated in the Master Playwright Festival. ChurchillFest 2010 is the first of MTC’s sponsored festivals to honour a female playwright and Caryl Churchill is certainly a wise choice as one of today’s most celebrated and most challenging writers. Vinegar Tom is a prime example of how she takes a simple story and uses a complex construction to deliver a clear message. The play runs non-stop through 20 vignettes with musical numbers occasionally used as transitions in the style of a Greek chorus, in order to comment on the action. Video projection highlights the reality of the historic witch hunts and contrasts it with today’s perception of women and the marginalized. It is entertainment with a point and a demanding yet exhilarating experience for both the students on stage and behind the scenes.

Set design is by Kim Donald-Haverty with costume design by Abigail Myers and lighting design by Lara Strain.

Performances: CanWest Centre for Theatre and Film, 400 Colony Street (enter off Balmoral):