the WITCH of edmonton

the red light district’s quest for justice presents:
the WITCH of edmonton
in trinity bellwoods park, august 2010 (as part of the summerworks theatre festival).

by thomas dekker, william rowley, & john ford.
directed and conceived by catherine dunn & ted witzel.
adapted by the ensemble.

the story:

murder. revenge. witchcraft. bigamy. dancing. champagne.
mother sawyer is an ordinary poor woman living in the small town of edmonton. ostracized and rejected by her neighbours, she is branded as a witch. with no roads left open to her, she embraces their loathsome epithet (and lays claim to its power) by selling her soul to a demonic hellhound.

as sin and perversion burst from every corner of this small community, the witch is put on trial for murders she couldn’t possibly have committed; in this small town, justice is driven by fear (and everybody needs somebody to blame).

in this site-specific modern adaptation, the audience is led through trinity bellwoods park as the sun sets — under the cover of night, the town’s demons come out to play.

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cast –
sir arthur clarington – michael-david blostein
katherine – val cina
thorney – marcel dragonieri
somerton – lauren gillis
frank – jonah hundert
mother sawyer – mina james
warbeck – ron kelly
susan – kat letwin
cuddy banks – reid linforth
winnifred – jess moss
dog – ted witzel
carter – eve wylden

 

crew –
directors – catherine dunn and ted witzel
choreography – brian solomon
costume design – erin telegdi and sj thiessen
stage manager – christopher ross
dramaturg – grace smith
stage crew – andrea kwan, jamie arfin, paul bansal

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reviews –
richard ouzounian, toronto star: summer madness
jon kaplan and glenn sumi, now magazine: summerworks’ best – outstanding production
ryan west, torontoist.com: your cheat sheet to summerworks 2010