THE WELKIN Comes to the Frank Theatre This Month

The Welkin by Lucy Kirkwood will be performed at the Frank Theatre this month. Performances will run March 6-29, 2026, Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30PM, Sundays at 2PM at the Gremlin Theatre, 550 Vandalia St #177, St Paul.

It’s 1759 in rural England, and the country is awaiting the return of Halley’s comet. A young woman, accused of murder, is sentenced to death. When she tries to escape the noose by claiming she is pregnant, twelve ordinary women are gathered to decide whether she is telling the truth. A dark, fierce, funny play about democracy and housework.

Kirkwood reminds us: truth doesn’t disappear when we ignore it—and silence, in the face of harm, is its own kind of violence. At once historic and urgent, the play takes aim at systems of control—from the state to the patriarchy—and cracks them open with fierce wit. 

“By asking the right questions, a play can make you leave with something switched on that was off when you walked in,” Kirkwood says.

THE WELKIN asks: What does justice look like when women are finally allowed to speak? And who gets to decide the truth when belief itself becomes a battlefield?

“A superb new history play – a feminist courtroom drama that’s equal parts Twelve Angry Men, The Crucible and The Vagina Monologues, plus a dash of searing, up-to-the-minute political and social commentary… a warm, humane and very funny piece, firmly anchored in women’s everyday experience.” —Broadway World

Pay What You Can on Saturday, March 7.
Masking required on Sunday, March 15.

Ticket cost: Tickets are $40 ($35, students seniors, low income)

Artistic Team

Directed by Wendy Knox
Set design by Joe Stanley
Lighting design by Tony Stoeri
Costume design by Kathy Kohl
Sound design and composition by Dan Dukich
Props design by Sarah Harris
Stage management by John Novak

Cast