Cadence and Firehouse Theatre Will Co-Produce New Play WITCHDUCK

Cadence and Firehouse Theatre will present the world premiere of WitchDuck, a dark comedic and subversive new play based on the true story of Grace Sherwood, Virginia's last convicted witch. This new work, written by Eva DeVirgilis, reexamines this dreadful history with a smart feminist perspective.

In 1706 in Norfolk, Virginia, Grace Sherwood is about to become the last woman to be ducked in North America. Witchducking was the practice of tying up women suspected of being witches and throwing them into the water. If they floated, they were thought to be guilty of witchcraft and in league with the devil. If they sank, they were absolved, but at that point, they were also deceased. WitchDuck brings this atrocious history to light with defiant, dark comedy and deep subversion, exposing the absurdity of power and inequality.

Three hundred and fifteen years later, playwright Eva DeVirgilis saw a sign for Witchduck Road while driving on I-64, and her curiosity was stirred. She learned about Sherwood's fate, which took place about nine miles from DeVirgilis' home. Thus, the birth of WitchDuck and a year-long Pipeline New Works Fellowship through Cadence, where DeVirgilis conducted additional research on early American history in the Tidewater area. Eva continued to work on the piece and brought it to a writer's retreat held in the spring of 2025 and hosted by Cadence. “The systems that once labeled women as ‘witches' didn't disappear, they just evolved, and I feel a responsibility to bring a new voice and perspective to stories that have been told and too often forgotten,” said DeVirgilis. She added, “I wrote this for anyone who's ever felt silenced. I want people to laugh, but I also want that laugh to catch in their throat a little. I want people to feel seen and leave entertained but also to ask harder questions about power, voice, and who gets believed. I hope it reminds us that we don't have to turn on each other - that the real work is to reach toward one another.”