Review: Willy Witches (Bread & Roses Theatre)

13 hours ago

3 min read

I was invited to review Willy Witches by Mardy Cow Theatre, and the press information led me to believe this would be an amusing show to see. This was the synopsis: Willy Witches is based on a little known myth during the English witch trials when men hallucinated their “manhoods” falling off. And because it was 17th Century England, of course witches got the blame! We follow four women as they navigate this epidemic in their village, trying to make it out the other side without being burnt at the stake. The play is fun, witty and at times, absolutely nuts (pardon the pun).

With the title, and an age advisory of 16+, I think everyone who entered the almost-full theatre on the evening I saw the show knew what kind of humour to expect, and also that the show was not going to take itself too seriously.

It all began with Hazel (Ellie Willis) creating a spell that didn’t quite go to plan and with quite personal results. She had a really amusing facial expression at times, which implied the character making a mistake would not be at all unusual. The frantic search for her husband’s missing member then ensued, with the cast searching the theatre, getting up close to the audience but somehow not interacting with them at all. This was a clever use of the relatively small space.

Performed by an ensemble cast of five, this fast-paced narrative was consistently amusing, with versatile performances from everyone on stage. The other witches were played by Leah Serena and writers Hannah Breedon and Hannah Willey, and then these four actors also played male characters, all unsurprisingly with the first name Dick. Their ability to switch characters constantly was impressive. The range of uses for willy-shaped props was also inventive; for want of a better expression, they kept popping up all over the place. Director Grace Sadler ensured there were barely any moments of downtime, keeping the action going throughout the hour-long performance.

Gregory Turner played 3 very different characters – a priest, Amelia, and Witch Hunter. Amelia definitely deserves a special mention, despite the relatively limited stage time, this character had an impact on the story and was incredibly funny. I also checked the cast information to check it was in fact the same actor as the transformation between these three characters was impressive, including varying accents and a totally different stage presence for each one.

With a show designed to be light hearted and amusing, the audience reaction was contagious, with the real sense that everyone was waiting for the next slightly unhinged thing to happen. As the show came to its conclusion and we proceeded down the staircase to the bar area, it was like floating along on a wave of positivity as everyone discussed what they’d thought of the production.

This is exactly the sort of piece that should be part of a fringe festival; it was completely obvious which way the comedy was going to go right from the point of looking at the poster, and this offered potential viewers an informed choice. Whilst the humour would not be for everyone, the whole point of fringe festivals is you get to pick from a large selection of offerings, and it was very obvious the audience on the night I saw Willy Witches thoroughly enjoyed it.