K.S. Norris is on solid ground with this new play – witches always make good drama. Like Arthur Miller’s classic, The Crucible, and many plays inspired by it, there’s no doubt the topic is fruitful. The history is rich and including ‘Witch Finder General’ Matthew Hopkins as a character a strong idea; it’s all interesting stuff.
Striving for balance is an important move. Norris gives the accused, Elizabeth Clarke, her say – we’d expect that nowadays. But the piece takes time over her tormentor Hopkins, even if insight into the man is a little rushed. A lot rests on Anastasia Babich and Finton McCluskey who take these parts but, regrettably, struggle at times over the understandably manic touches. Babich laughs a little too readily while McCluskey’s character is too prone to panic. But there’s also time with Hopkins’ mentor, his mother and potential fiancé, nice roles for Rob Wallis, Emily Fellows and Nika Kamaeva, that prove to be highlights.
Unfortunately, the script does not help the performers. There are too many olde worlde flourishes. It’s not that they’re unbelievable—Norris has a clear sense of how the Bible filled her subjects’ lives—but the actors stumble over them. While the direction, from Norris and Davy Tennison, aims for control, it ends up slow with the drama and efforts at humour or romance uneven. And there are issues around audibility with too many lines lost. Atmosphere is left to the score from Finn Weston and, while this is strong, it is not enough.
The conclusion has impact, even if the sense of history repeating itself is pessimistic. Perhaps it is best to think of Deliver Us From Evil as an introduction to the topic. The setting and the arguments are clear and there’s plenty to ponder. But the play suffers from offering little that is new, whether in its storytelling, its historical insight or the perspective it offers.
Until 6 August 20226
www.khoasproductions.co.uk
Tag Archives: Bridewell Theatre
“Our American Queen” at the Bridewell Theatre
This sophisticated historical drama by Thomas Klingenstein examines Kate Chase, daughter of a presidential wannabe hoping to depose Lincoln during the American Civil War. The history is fascinating and the view of politics as “the art of ‘it depends’” insightful. The show balances romance and political ambitions well, showing how they connect without too much judgement. You might want more or less of the love stories, but the script, and direction from Christopher McElroen, are both admirably controlled.
The Chases, father and daughter, are great roles for Darrell Brockis and Wallis Currie-Wood. Both performers generate sympathy for characters who aren’t particularly likeable, taking the audience on a detailed and enjoyable emotional journey. It is easy to view Kate as “regal but cold”, yet Currie-Wood shows a lot of repressed emotion and gives the character’s self-sacrifice a certain dignity. Brockis has a good line in gravitas, too. I spent a lot of the play admiring this Secretary to the Treasury, persuaded by his humour and humility. But he is also ruthless figure. How much Kate becomes an “indispensable nag” to her father for his own sake, to progress his career, becomes an increasingly open question. And how much she is allowed to make this sacrifice adds further debate. Father and daughter have a lot to work out – if Klingenstein veers a little close to a therapy session at times, their relationship is always layered, intriguing and well performed.
Supporting roles are slightly less successful. Christy Meyer and Haydn Hoskins both do well as Mrs Eastman and General McClellan. But they are too obviously foils for the main characters and don’t convince as romantic interests for father and daughter. That’s partly deliberate – neither couple gets together. Kate’s heart is taken not by the General (an old flame) or her off-stage fiancé, but by Lincoln’s secretary John Hay, admirably performed by Tom Victor. Hay is a poet, and the love of literature he shares with Kate is the sweet basis of their relationship (Klingenstein gets a lot of mileage out of Whitman and Dickens – discussions of Great Expectations are a nice touch until they become laboured.) The wish for a happy ending works well, though, and is touching and thought provoking.
Although the piece is a static affair, the staging is strong. A video screen is made good use of, and McElroen does a great job injecting tension into staging a dinner party. The event is part of Kate’s strategy for her father’s campaign and leads to a fine theatrical moment – a great surprise – when tension explodes. A piece so wordy and cerebral isn’t to all tastes but Our American Queen is a quality affair: an interesting take on Great Men in history providing a valuable perspective with a clear intelligence. Does Kate get her happy ending? Well, it’s a truism that political careers always end in failure. But Klingenstein and Currie-Wood did raise my hopes, and that’s an achievement.
Until 7 February 2026
www.sbf.org.uk
Photo by Lidia Crisafulli