Week 2: Her Dark Materials

Inspiration for the topic of our play was drawn from a article published in The Guardian on Friday 20th July 2012. Entitled "Her Dark Materials", by Blake Morrison, the article is about the culture of witches and witchcraft among the creative arts. It makes specific reference to the Pendle and Salem witch trials. It analyses the development of "the witch" to its modern stereotype, citing references throughout history, ranging from Shakespeare's "The Tempest"; to "The Wizard of Oz", to "Harry Potter". Caryl Churchill's "Vinegar Tom" is made reference to at length, exploring her expression of the reasons why witches and witchcraft are a feminist affliction. She will proceed to express this further throughout her female characters in the play, most particularly the characters Alice, Susan and Joan.

To read the article, please click on the link below:

https://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/books/2012/jul/20/blake-morrison-under-the-witches-spell