In the seventeenth century in the small town of Lowestoft, Suffolk two elderly women were accused of witchcraft, imprisoned, tortured and tried at Bury St. Edmunds assizes. The trial was farcical and quite clearly heavily biased in favour of prosecution. Pre-dating the Salem witch trials and based on a true story this play portrays the horror and hypocrisy of the seventeenth century witch hunts…not for the faint hearted.
Read an extract here:
Scene One
(Black set, prison window bars backlit on backdrop, straw on the floor, wooden bucket upstage right, wooden bench centre stage. Piercing scream from offstage left, Amy Denny is pushed harshly onstage and collapses to the floor. She is in rags with her blouse torn, is filthy dirty and sobbing uncontrollably. She attempts to hold her blouse closed to cover her nakedness and she favours her left foot which is seen to be bloodied. She crawls painfully to centre stage. Another scream offstage left followed by voices.)
Gaoler: Witch! You’ll burn witch!
Rose Cullender: Please you, please, no more please.
(Another scream, Rose is thrown on stage and collapses to the floor. She, like Amy is dressed in rags, is filthy dirty and her left hand is bloodied. She cradles it, sobbing. Amy crawls to her and takes her in her arms. They gently rock together quietly sobbing.)
Rose: What is to become of us Amy?
Amy: They is sayin’ were witches Rose. I’m no witch.
Rose: Witch? How can we be witches Amy, I pray to God each night and hold my cross against the devil.
(She searches for her cross around her neck. It isn’t there.)
Rose: My cross!
Amy: What Rose?
Rose: My cross has gone Amy!
(She staggers to her feet and begins to search the floor, scrabbling among the straw.)
Amy: They took it Rose, like they took mine. Told me I was blaspheming holding onto the cross of our Lord an’ me in league with the Satan.
Rose: Dear God! What are we to do Amy? I haven’t done nothing, just give me tit to a bairn I was looking after to keep him quiet like. Now their tellin’ me the babes took ill because of it. I know I ain’t got no milk now but the babes will still suck and be contented. I never hurt no babe in me life.
Please use the contact form to receive a reading copy of the script and purchase price