Vinegar Tom
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Perry Fenton, Sam Jackson, Lyndsee Bell |
By Caryl Churchill
Directed by Ariel CraftShotgun Players, Berkeley
Until January 19, 2019
Reviewed by Christine Okon
It is not a new thing that strong women are feared, mistrusted, blamed, and punished for owning their anger, passion, sexuality, or independence..for being too different, too poor, too anything that denied or baffled the patriarchal world order.
For four centuries, such women were demonized as witches, hunted, tortured, and extirpated according to rules established by those in power and documented in such go-to reference books as the 15th century The Malleus Maleficarum (the Hammer of Witches).
With the term “witch hunt” permeating the news these days, Shotgun Players has grabbed the devil by the horns in staging “Vinegar Tom,” Caryl Churchill’s evisceration of the belief that strong women are evil beings that must be punished.
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Sam Jackson and Sharon Shao |
With the back and forth pace of a boxing match, “Vinegar Tom” doesn’t have a plot so much as it stirs commotion and upset. Caught up in larger and unseen societal machinations, the characters collide with each other in fear and desperation.
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Celia Maurice as the demonized Joan |
The absurdity of the “scientific” practice of witch hunting is brilliantly lanced in the vaudeville-Edwardian music hall scene with Sam Jackson as Kramer and Celia Maurice as Sprenger, the two authors of the Malleus Maleficarum. Jackson and Maurice wield mean top hats and canes as they engage in witty banter in sprightly counterpoint to the treacherous tome.
“Vinegar Tom” emerged at the beginning of the women’s movement in the 1970s, when the book Our Bodies Ourselves opened the eyes of so many women who never before questioned their place in society. Such women would have been witches for sure. Although we can look back at the absurdity of 15th century practices, we should not sit back and assume that all is well if “powers that be” have their way.
Where have all the witches gone?
Who are the witches now?
Here we are.
- “Lament for the Witches”
"Vinegar Tom" by Caryl Churchill, directed by Ariel Craft. Shotgun Players, Ashby Stage, Berkeley, through January 19, 2020. Info: shotgunplayers.org
Photography by Ben Krantz
Lyndsee Bell, Ensemble, Doctor
Melanie DuPuy, Goody
Amanda Farbstein, Susan
Perry Fenton, Ensemble, Bellringer
Dov Hassan, Jack
Sam Jackson, Ellen, Kramer
Celia Maurice, Joan, Sprenger
Jennifer McGeorge, Margery
Sarah Mitchell, Packer
Sharon Shao, Betty
Megan Trout, Alice
The Crew
Daniel Alley, Music Director
Nina Ball, Set Design*
Dani Chapparro, M.A.D. Sound Fellow/Sound Sound Board Op
Ashley Corso, Wardrobe Supervisor
Ariel Craft, Director
Evan Favela, M.A.D. Props Fellow
Natalie Greene, Choreographer
Taylor Gonzalez, Sound Engineer
Brooke Jennings, Costume Designer
Liz Johnson, Production Assistant
Heather Kelly-Laws, Stage Manager
Amar Khalsa, Clarinet Sub
Devon LaBelle, Props Designer
Dave Maier, Fight Director
Caitlin McFann, Sound Sound Board Op
Ray Oppenheimer, Lighting Designer
Leigh Rondon-Davis, Assistant Director
Caitlin Steinmann, Master Electrician
Matt Stines, Sound Designer
Derek Sup, Piano/Associate Conductor
*Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829
The Band
Daniel Alley, Music Director, Piano/Conductor
Dup Crosson, Drums
Jorge Hernandez-Lopez, Alto Sax/Flute
Morgan Brittni Sonnenfeld, Clarinet
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