The Witches - Defiance in the Face of Death By Augustus Williams

Witches are often portrayed as old hags with crooked noses and pointy hats, but this beautifully written show by Nicole Pontikes and Sarah Jackson reminds us of the upsetting truth behind the origins of witches. The Witches is the story of five women who share little in common save their circumstance - they are about to be executed together for the crime of witchcraft. All five actors shared a beautiful sense of ensemble that strengthened everyone's performance as well as the show as a whole. Each character was defined as an individual, and they all contained so much personality that shone beyond just the story of how they got arrested. The dialogue was well written and performed, and made the characters feel all the more real and relatable. The design of the set was subtle but effective, just five wooden boxes and a blanket of straw on the ground, which effectively communicated the literal surroundings of the characters while also providing a perfect device to be reconfigured as each “witch” told their stories. I also personally deeply loved the costuming, which was more period inspired than period accurate. The character designs felt like the outfits you might see at a renaissance fair, with various contemporary elements pulled together to create a more timely look. This juxtaposition of fashion felt to me like a reminder that although this story happened many, many years ago, the abuse and mistreatment that these women faced is still very much a problem today.