The Last Witch, Traverse

Rona Munro's imagining of the events surrounding the last execution for witchcraft in Britain.  We're in Dornoch in 1727 and widow Janet Horne (Deirdre Davis) has a local reputation for having a bit of a magic touch.  She can help the sick get well, but equally she's said to be able to put a curse on too.  In reality she's a fantasist, an imaginative storyteller who's careless with words and heedless of the impact they can have in a superstitious society that still believes firmly in the existence of witches and their links to the devil.  That she uses hallucinogenic herbs and her teenage daughter Helen (Fiona Wood) was born with deformed hands and feet only adds to people's wariness and suspicion.

When neighbour Douglas Begg (Alan Steele) accuses of her of putting a curse on his dying cattle the authorities, religious and secular, are bound to investigate.  A vivacious Janet teases Niall Graham Mackay-Bruce), the cautious minister of the kirk, and flirts with Captain Ross, the
Captain Ross (David Rankine) the Sheriff, who maintains a very black and white legalistic view of the world.  And of women.  He is the representative of a deeply patriarchal society that views women as objects to be used or feared.  Begg's wife Elspeth (Helen Logan) is acutely aware that she must fit in with the crowd and sacrifice her principles to ensure she doesn't meet the same fate as her friend.

Act 1 takes us through the build up to the accusation and arrest.  The post-interval Janet is a very different creature to that we've seen before, of chains, sackcloth and dirt as Ross seeks to break her spirit and make her confess.  There is no doubt in the Sheriff's mind that she will and must do so, for the lay requires it.  And he's not beyond stooping to dirty tricks to get what he wants.  Once the process has begun he can only envisage one ending, whatever the consequences for others (the parallel with the UK's current political chaos is surely coincidental as the script dates back to 2009).

The set is stark, but fascinating, contrasting the cracked bareness of the rocks with a looming sky that shows up the hard life these people lived and providing a focal performance area.  There are strong performances throughout with Davis providing a sparkling lead.  But most notable was the seventh member of the cast, Alan Mirren as Nick, a traveller who may or may not be the devil, and has a crucial role in the outcome of Horne's fate.  Mirren is a sardonic presence, gets some of the best laughs (despite the subject matter Munro has injected plenty of humour), and provides an element of supernatural mystery to the tale.

Flaws?  The first act is a bit all over the place and lacks coherence at times, with some overlong or unnecessary scenes.  In contrast the second flies by and the execution scene is imaginatively portrayed, although the final scene feels out of character.  Despite which I'd recommend going to see The Last Witch.  It brings to life a disturbing part of our history and demonstrates the deep roots that underlie the misogyny which still exists.  Women's voices need to be heard.