“Vinegar
Tom” at SDSU: A Witches Tale…With a Feminist Mission
Words by Kristen
Fogle
“Vinegar
Tom” is the work of political playwright Caryl Churchill. Written in 1976, the
piece captures the ridicule and punishment western women in the fifteenth to seventeenth
centuries faced as a result of community members identifying them as witches.
While reading the Malleus Maleficarum,
the definitive document of its time on discovering and persecuting witches,
Churchill was overcome by how “…petty and everyday the witches offenses were.”
So became
her motivation for the creation of “Vinegar Tom,” which has been regarded as an
important work for socialist feminism, bringing to light issues of not only
sexual inequality and gender identity, but also classist and economic problems.
The play also adopts the strategies of epic theater—“Vinegar” does not embody a
definitive plot and instead derives its narrative continuity from a series of
episodes. These scenes are very character driven—we see a glimpse into a number
of their lives—in Somerset, England in 1664. For instance, Alice has just had
relations with the Devil (is he, isn’t he?) but wants him to come back to her;
her friend Susan is having trouble grasping that she will soon bear a third
child; meanwhile, Alice’s mother Joan is making waves with the neighbors—who are
losing their cows and blaming her. There is also the local lady healing with
herbs—though well intentioned, you can just make an educated guess as to her
fate.
In the SDSU
production, notable actors are Sonny Smith, whose fieriness and sharp tongue
made her an amazing Sister
Aloysius in the theatre program’s “Doubt” earlier in their season, and make her
a force to be reckoned with as Ellen (and later as Kramer) in “Vinegar.” Susan
Jordan DeLeon excels in her comical characterization of old woman Joan (and
performs with Smith in a Vaudeville number in the end as Sprenger—still trying
to wrap my head around why Churchill threw this in?). Rachel Hoey adeptly
tackles the free spirited Alice and Anna Kreig performs pathetic, weak minded
Susan passionately.
Spliced in
between the scenes are songs by six talented females (and a male on keys); the
songs relate the feelings of the action from a modern perspective. For example,
“If Everybody Worked as Hard as Me” features an extremely catchy chorus that
boasts that if you shut your mouth and support your man you can have a happy
family! “Oh Doctor” laments about women being “fixed” for conditions and
feelings that are really just a part of being female. Best, the women sit in
the audience during the play, rising to sing and taking turns rotating
seats…they become just like everyone else, watching the piece, but translating what
a more poignant audience member’s reaction might be into more modern terms.
Peter
Larlham directs, setting the piece is Sommerset deliberately as it is a place
he is familiar with (as well as one that experienced a number of witch hangings
the year the play is set). Heather Whitney is the A.D. The Technical Director
(Eben Alguire) and Scenic Designer (Mason Daryl Lev) should be noted for making
great use the Experimental Theatre’s space; the group has made good use of
deciding to play in the round this time—or at least in the “square” or
“rectangle” as that is really the shape of the stage. Sound and lighting were
also both effective in conveying the mood—Donald Sweetman and Elizabeth
Swaffield are to praise for these elements.
“Vinegar
Tom” is at times more a history lesson that hints at the witch trial’s
applications to today than entertainment, but for a student show, I think it is
a good pick. The play, which was sold out the night I went, has the opportunity
of reaching students in a variety of disciplines as it tackles so many issues.
Continuing to expand the minds of the curious is one of the goals of higher
education, and due to good acting and careful attention from behind the scenes
staff, I think “Vinegar” is quite in line with this mission. Though Churchill’s
piece was short lived (it ran from April 20-29), I have no doubt SDSU will be
back with more high quality, important plays quite soon.
For more on SDSU’s theatre program,
please visit: http://theatre.sdsu.edu/
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