The first ever production of Joanna Baillie’s 1834 play at the Finborough Theatre

Cast:

Scott Ainslie – Murrey

Joanne Cummins – Mary Macmurren

Holly De Jong – Lady Dungarren/Grizeld Bane

Stephanie Farrell- Violet Murrey

Allison McKenzie – Lady Annabella

Neil McNulty – Black Bawldy

Suzanne Mackenzie – Phemy/Elspy Low

Scott McFarlan – Rutherford

John Milroy – The Laird of Dungarren

Martin Ritchie – Anderson

David Whitney – The Sheriff of Renfrewshire.

Creatives

Producer – Naomi George

Designer – Katherine Hayes

Lighting Designer – Jason Kirk

Sound Designer – Matthew Downing

Stage Manager – Anthony Shaw

'Baillie has an unquenchable vitality; she paints a horrific picture of a Scotland, presumably before the repeal of the Witchcraft Act in 1736, where women could be burned on the flimsiest of evidence. In Bronwen Carr's boisterous revival, Stephanie Farrell ensures that the heroine is no shrinking Violet. Her chief accuser is opulently performed by Allison McKenzie, who fixes us all with baleful stares. There is good support from Scott Ainslie and Holly de Jong, It is robustly enjoyable, Walter Scott-style stuff' – Michael Billington in The Guardian

**** - Time Out

'...the intimate setting of Finborough Theatre would seem a perfect choice.  Baillie had notable admirers including Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott and sitting in the stuffy venue with swishing cloaks and other parts of a terrific wardrobe brushing against my legs it is easy to see what these latter day celebrities saw in this enjoyable play...captivating scenes...gratifying to the end...moving...with immense depth' – The Australian Times

'The stunning period costumes kept the play in its late 17th-century setting, while the small space required precise, elegant blocking and minimalist backdrops and props. The performances of John Milroy Neil McNulty and Allison) were outstanding for all the right reasons but particularly because the accents were spot on The overall closeness could have overwhelmed the play as the temperature kept rising in the upstairs space of the Finborough Fringe Theatre on the unseasonably hot May 9th evening. Even after the interval, however, the house was completely packed once again—speaking to the extraordinary quality of Bronwen Carr’s direction and Naomi George’s production' – Judith Slagle in The Journal of Restoration and Eighteenth Century Theatre Research

‘Carr’s quietly subversive staging’ - London Theatre Blog