Full casting announced for world premiere of THE MANNINGTREE WITCHES
Mercury Theatre Colchester has announced full casting for the world premiere production of award-winning Mercury Playwright Ava Pickett’s new play The Manningtree Witches, which plays at the venue from 28 February-14 March.
Based on the award-winning novel by A. K. Blakemore, the gripping historical drama is a fiercely modern exploration of fear, control, and what happens when women’s voices are silenced. Following 17-year-old Rebecca West in 1643 Essex, The Manningtree Witches tells the true story of England’s first Witchfinder General and wrenches the women he killed out from the shadows of history and into the spotlight.
The cast includes Lucy Mangan (Playfight, Soho Theatre/Edinburgh Festival/UK tour) as Rebecca West, Sam Mitchell (To Kill a Mockingbird, West End) as Matthew Hopkins, Gina Isaac (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, UK tour) as Anne ‘The Beldam’ West, current Mercury Theatre Associate Artist Chileya Mwampulo (Teechers, New Wolsey Theatre/Tour) as Judith, Gabriel Agha (professional acting debut) as Thomas Briggs, Fiona Branson (Eastenders, BBC) as Bess Clarke, Amy Cudden (Coronation Street, ITV) as Mrs Briggs and Leah Miller, Gavin Fowler (The Merchant of Venice 1936 – West End/Tour) as John Edes, Jack Gogarty (A Look At Bedtime, Southwark Playhouse) as John Stearne, Mia Jerome (Romeo & Juliet, Jamie Lloyd Company) as Margaret Moone, and Maria Louis (Silence, Mercury Theatre/ Salisbury Theatre) as Liz Godwin. The production will also a feature a community chorus of local performers.
Artistic Director of Mercury Theatre and director of The Manningtree Witches, Natasha Rickman, said: "I am delighted to be working with this extraordinary cast to bring this beautiful new play to the Mercury stage. It is a pleasure to have among them an array of Essex talent, including several company members living right here in Colchester, to bring this piece of our history to the stage."
The creative team also includes movement director Scott Graham, designer Sara Perks, lighting designer Lucía Sánchez Roldán, composer Nicola T. Chang, musical director/arranger Anna Pool, fight director Philip d’Orléans, and sound designer Elena Peña.
For more info on The Manningtree Witches, please click here.