The University of Winnipeg

News

Campus

UWinnipeg Theatre Students Explore Witchcraft

WINNIPEG —The University of Winnipeg Department of Theatre and Film’s 2009-10 season continues January 29 to February 6 with the powerful and cutting social commentary Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill, part of MTC’s annual play festival, ChurchillFest. The play will be directed by Hope McIntyre and performed by the Third-Year Honours Acting class, with technical support from the Department’s design and production students.

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):

Fri, Jan 29 – 8:00 pm

Sat, Jan 30 – 8:00 pm

Sun, Jan 31 – 2:30 pm

Tues, Feb 2 – 8:00 pm

Wed, Feb 3 – 8:00 pm

Thurs, Feb 4 – 8:00 pm

Fri, Feb 5 – 8:00 pm

Sat, Feb 6 – 8:00 pm

Regular tickets are $10; students and seniors are $6 (pickup and payment is at the door, cash or ChurchillPass only). To reserve tickets, please call our 24-hour Reservation and Information Line at 204.786.9152, or visit The University of Winnipeg Department of Theatre and Film’s website at: http://theatre.uwinnipeg.ca.

For more information, please contact:
Patty Hawkins
Department of Theatre and Film
The University of Winnipeg
T: 204.786.9955
p.hawkins@uwinnipeg.ca

UW Website: http://theatre.uwinnipeg.ca

ChurchillFest: http://www.masterplaywrightfest.com/