Unsettling music and Chekov's child draw the audience in before 1612 even starts, creating the perfect environment to learn about this historic witch trial. Rather than focussing on the people in power and how the hysteria and rumours spread, the show centres around the rising panic in a few central families. The deliberate targeting of traditional medicines is better understood now, and not a particularly new take, but this show highlights the reality of how people, generally poor or oppressed already, come to be accused of witchcraft.
Despite how many characters were introduced in such a short play, each was interesting and compelling in their own right, with the matriarch, Elizabeth Suthers, being a standout performance.
Some small pieces of context were missing, and though I appreciate an all-female story about women, a magistrate figure throughout would have helped clarify certain scenes. The costumes were fantastic and the staging evocative - impressive with such a simple set - yet the whole thing lacked inspiration and failed to touch on the deeper themes of finding truth and the desperation of poverty. Perhaps better suited as an introduction to the topic or for younger viewers, it made for a good and topical history lesson.
1612 is at TheSpace On The Mile until 23 August
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