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Witchcraft
Neil McNulty and Allison McKenz
By Joanna Bailie Directed by Bronwen Carr
Finborough Theatre 23 April –10 May, 2008
A review byKirsty Harris for EXTRA! EXTRA!
Written in the 1800s by Joanna Baillie, a contemporary and friend of Sir Walter Scott amongst others, Witchcraft is a story of vengeful scheming, madness, love and murder. Something wicked is occurring in the house of the Dungarrens’, worsening a child’s illness and making things go bump in the night. Annabella uses these superstitions to her advantage. She plans to thwart the love affair between Violet Murrey and the Laird of Dungarren. Mad ‘witches’ – headed by Grizzeled bane (who seems to be having some sort of love affair of her own with Satan), an escaped-convict-in-hiding father and a hapless fool are all thrown into the mix to make an entertaining, if slightly predictable, yarn Naomi George obviously aims to create a sense of place in Witchcraft. There is Scottish music on sale at the box office and playing at the beginning of the piece, a set consisting of a Celtic ruin and touches of tartan in the costumes. However this all seems fairly superficial. A realistic set in such a small space cannot hope to look anything but manufactured at close quarters. More stylised elements may create more sense of place than trying to reconstruct the Land of the Brave (including an angry mob soundtrack) in a black box space. Less involved dramatic devices and design would leave the audience to focus on the performances and give them the attention they deserve. Some slightly dodgy Scottish accents throw the dialogue somewhat. But steady performances do bring things back centre. Notably, Holley de Jong as Lady Dungarren and Grizeld Bane has the kind of presence that engages the audience when she swirls into a thunderstorm surrounded invocation of the spirits and a freedom in her role to make one believe she is completely insane. Stephanie Farrell flourishes as Violet Murray in the second half as her story takes a darker turn. Her plotline is a little cliché but she brings sincerity and strength to the character of the wrongly accused witch. Scott Ainslie cuts a strong figure in Witchcraft as the on-the-run father of Violet Murray. He completely embodies the brave and honest man; totally devoted to his daughter and willing to lay down his life for her – a character of bygone times and it seems Les Miserables. The supporting roles really shine in this piece. Suzanne McKenzie and Martin Ritchie provide comic moments, particularly Ritchie who times his cheeky comments perfectly. Neil McNulty scampers around the stage with the energy appropriate for his youthful and impressionable character of Black Bawldy – the unfortunate fool pulled into Annabella’s the evil plots. He is endearing in the role and makes it all too easy for the audience to feel for him as he gets tangled in a sticky web of intrigue. The characters are all a little archaic, this production does not attempt to update or contextualise Witchcraft for a 21st century audience. This doesn’t spoil the piece by any means, the honesty with which the cast take on their roles is impressive, but it does prevent one from viewing the action beyond quality entertainment. But Witchcraft is also perfect example of quality storytelling, something which, theatrically speaking, can often be sacrificed in a desperation to connect to a grander picture or to make social comment. I can often be left feeling hungry for a story after seeing a performance - left to agonise over politics and controversy in place of musing over a well told narrative. I love to be told a good story and Witchcraft left me feeling completely satisfied in that respect.
John Milroyand StephanieFarre
Tuesday - Saturday Evenings 7.30pm Saturday and Sunday Matinees 3.00pm. Tickets £13, £9 concessions Tuesday Evenings £9 all seats, Saturday evenings £13 all seats.
Finborough Theatre The Finborough, 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 9ED
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