Cast announced for Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern

Casting has been announced for Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern, a new play by award-wining playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz. The play opens at the Watford Palace Theatre in September ahead of a short national tour.

Leading the cast in Ria Parry's production will be Patti Love, whose stage credits include Something Never Happened (Assembly Rooms) and Henry IV parts I and II (RSC), with film credits including Women in Gold and Mrs Henderson Presents.

She will be joined by David Acton (The Woman In Black), Judith Coke (Danton's Death), Tim Delap (Alls Well That Ends Well), Hannah Hutch (The Skriker), Andrew Macklin (The Beauty Queen of Leenane), Rachel Sanders (War Horse) and Cat Simmons (The Bill).

Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern focuses on the witch trial of Jane Wenham, a woman from a small Hertfordshire village in 1712, which provoked a nationwide pamphlet war.

Commenting on the production, director Ria Parry said: "Part of what draws me to Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern is that it resonates with issues we are still facing today.

"In many areas of the world, women are still horribly oppressed, and even closer to home there is a tendency to 'witch-hunt' not just women, but anyone we fear or don't understand — to persecute or demonize a particular group in order to protect yourself or your own."

Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern is an Out of Joint, Watford Palace Theatre and Arcola Theatre production, in association with Eastern Angles.

The production will open at Watford Palace Theatre on 23 September before a two week rural tour in association with Eastern Angles. It will then travel to Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Salisbury, finally playing at the Arcola Theatre in London from 7 January 2016.