The Manningtree Witches at Colchester’s Mercury Theatre – review

Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled “Witchfinder General”, wreaked havoc in 17th-century East Anglia, sending more than a 100 women to the gallows with hundreds more tortured and imprisoned.

This bleakest period in England’s history has now been brought to the stage in The Manningtree Witches, a deeply moving and gutsy production based on A K Blakemore’s bestseller, debuting at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester.

Adapted by award-winning Mercury playwright Ava Pickett, this thrilling historical drama, directed by Natasha Rickman, is a fiercely modern exploration of fear, control, misogyny and what happens when women’s voices are silenced. The rigid control of women’s lives under Oliver Cromwell’s Puritanical governance is seen to be little different to their suffering today. Here, Pickett gives names to those countless forgotten female victims who suffered at the hands of a man’s cruelty.

Hopkins’ short-lived reign of terror whipped up religious fervour among poor peasant stock, forcing friends, neighbours and family to turn on their womenfolk and accuse them of being in league with the Devil. There are disturbing scenes of victims, young and old, being targeted by gossip and hatred. They’re intimately examined, where a mole or blemish condemns them to death.

Pickett presents a sexually repressed Hopkins who, terrified of his feelings for teen Rebecca West, launches a holy crusade to drive out sin. Hopkins moves to the village of Manningtree on the banks of the River Stour in Essex. When a young boy dies in mysterious circumstances, he starts sowing the seeds of hysteria and paranoia, which leads to a shocking climax.

Pretty soon, the 25-year-old Cambridge scholar is making up the rules as he goes along and turning witchfinding into a lucrative business. He claims that he wants to save souls, but the reality is that he enjoys the notoriety and power that he has over women.

Lucy Mangan is spellbinding as West in this Mercury Original co-production with Frantic Assembly. She’s on stage for nearly the entire production, acting as narrator and the target of a man’s obsession. The troubled teen finds herself a pawn in Hopkins’ campaign, with her own sexual awakening having terrible consequences. Meanwhile, Sam Mitchell delivers a subtle and quietly menacing turn as a man on a holy mission.

Pickett’s fluid and earthy dialogue brings Manningtree of 1643 to life. The women bitch and swear, their hardships and family problems are no different to today. Gina Isaac is fearless as Rebecca’s feisty mother, Anne, who ultimately proves powerless to quash the frenzy tearing through her community.

The production is beautifully staged, from Lucía Sánchez Roldán’s stark lighting and Sara Parks’ pared-down set and costumes, to Frantic Assembly’s signature dynamic movement direction.

The Manningtree Witches comes with a whole raft of trigger warnings and a 14+ age restriction. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but it makes for riveting theatre.