Tuesday 10 – Saturday 14 July
The play, which enjoyed a record-breaking run when it was first staged at The Dukes in 2009, tells a human story set against a climate of fear and superstition and attempts to unravel the mysteries still surrounding the trials.
Sabbat attempts to unravel the mysteries still surrounding the Lancashire witch trials. Did Alice Nutter and her other acquaintances really take part in a witches secret meeting or were they innocent victims at a time of paranoia?
The play imagines the events leading up to the trial and execution of the Pendle Witches and asks how many lives were destroyed by laws born out of fear?
Christine Mackie, who plays Alice Nutter, will be recognized from her role as Daphne Bryant in Downton Abbey and another familiar face from television in the cast is Nisa Cole who played schoolgirl Amy Porter in three series of BBC1’s Waterloo Road. Nisa takes on the part of Jennet Device.
This tale of persecution begins with a secret meeting held high on a hill in the wild and lawless area of Pendle in Lancashire – one of the ‘dark corners of the land " and it ends on another hill, in Lancaster, where 10 people are hanged for witchcraft.
The story has an enduring fascination for the public as The Dukes director Joe Sumsion explained: “People seem to be drawn to the subject for all sorts of reasons – ideas of scapegoats, victims, religion, social class and gender all have a part to play and when you add in superstition, magic and revenge, the subject becomes all the more compelling.”
Sabbat’s original creative team will be reunited for this revival, led by award-winning director Amy Leach, who was brought up in Darwen.
For more information and bookings, go to www.themuni.co.uk
