ED2011 3/5 Reviews ED2011 Theatre Reviews

Livewire Theatre’s Salem (Livewire Theatre Company)

By | Published on Wednesday 31 August 2011

Sharply executed, but not as it should have been – this statement describes both the appalling miscarriages of justice that led to the gruesome hangings of three vulnerable women wrongly accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts during the late 17th century, and the production that retells the story of their tragic deaths. Brief, relentlessly energetic introductory scenes lay weak foundations for individual character establishment, while realistically archaic dialogue, admirably lifted from detailed transcriptions of the 1692 Salem village case trials, means that the complicated and demanding plot is confusing to the uninitiated. Despite many respectable performances, this combination means that the play’s bitter conclusion is nowhere near as disturbing as I anticipated. Perhaps calm down a little next time, Livewire.

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall, 5 – 20 Aug, 9.10pm (9.55pm), £5.00, fpp276.
tw rating 3/5
[jf]



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