Vinegar Tom, by Nelson Repertory Theatre, Wednesday 22 May at the Theatre Royal. Reviewed by Judene Edgar.
Nelson Repertory is best known for their annual pantomimes and light-hearted comedies, so Vinegar Tom, a powerful and provocative tale of patriarchal and religious oppression of women through the witch hunts of the 17th century could not be a greater departure for them.
When playwright Caryl Churchill wrote Vinegar Tom in 1976, she said, “I wanted to write a play about witches with no witches in it; a play not about evil, hysteria and possession by the devil, but about poverty, humiliation and prejudice, and how the women accused of witchcraft saw themselves.”
Known for such plays as Metamorphosis, Woyzeckand Medea, Director Anton Bentley likes to offer up to audiences something new, surprising, and provocative, and Vinegar Tom certainly doesn’t disappoint. And once again he has showcased the depth of talent we have in Nelson. The strong cast bring life to this tale of the harsh mistreatment of lower-class women who don’t conform to society’s norms … unmarried, poor, opinionated, ambitious, single parents.
Vinegar Tom is a great reminder that looking back at history challenges us to reflect on the state of our contemporary society. History is not for the faint of heart, and this play is raw and brutally honest in its depiction of the cruelty inflicted upon women. “What the play did, implicitly, was show how sinking without drowning is the art of survival as a woman, whether in the seventeenth or the twentieth century,” Catherine Itzin (Tribune Dec 1976).
The story centres on Joan (Molly Brealey) an elderly widow with a pet cat named Vinegar Tom, her young daughter Alice (Carys Trotter) who sleeps with a man she doesn’t know (Conor Stevenson), her friend Susan (Lisa McKenzie) who is pregnant yet again, Betty (Molly Clarke) who doesn’t want to marry, and Ellen (Michaela Sheehan) who is a healer and midwife.
After hot-headed Joan curses her God-fearing neighbours Margery (Maree Hatton) and Jack (Nick Gastrell), it becomes the catalyst for them blaming her for all of their hardships – real and imagined – dying cattle, a lost hen, a stomach ache, a storm, a spider.
But with the arrival of a professional witch hunter (Thomas Tough) and his assistant Goody (Donna Botha), the heat is on these women to try and prove their innocence – a burden of proof that no woman could ever meet.
In a stellar cast with so many stand out performances and memorable scenes, Molly Brealey is at her best as the crone Joan. Her depth of characterisation is truly captivating and complex. Nick Gastrell risks being typecast as he breathes life into the truly despicable and repugnant Jack.
Interspersing the tense drama is some dark humour, hilarious puns and 1950s style songs that provide some upbeat comedy and narration with thanks to the live piano accompaniment by Jane Bayley and musical direction of Michaela Sheehan. Maree Hatton’s powerful rendition of ‘If everyone worked as hard as me’ was met was rapturous applause as was her powerful performance of the pious and formidable Margery.
Vinegar Tom is on at the Theatre Royal at 7.30pm for just three more nights – Thursday 23 to Saturday 25 May. Get your tickets online from the Theatre Royal today to see this powerful and provocative play.
