I spent this morning in a social media storm, studying reactions to the Daily Mail’s interpretation of the most recent homicide of a lady. Her poor husband was “living in the shadow of his high achieving wife”. Just one other headline within the swarm of reports tales that may make the feminist struggle really feel futile. It was with this swimming round my thoughts, that I headed to the Vault Festival to see Hexenhammer by theatre firm Secretariat.Hexenhammer, or in its English translation ‘The Hammer of Witches’, is a ebook written by two monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, in fifteenth century…
Rating
Excellent
Secretariat sort out severe topics with scrumptious humour and keenness, on this fast-paced, whirlwind hour that spans many years.
I spent this morning in a social media storm, studying reactions to the Daily Mail’s interpretation of the most recent homicide of a lady. Her poor husband was “living in the shadow of his high achieving wife”. Just one other headline within the swarm of reports tales that may make the feminist struggle really feel futile. It was with this swimming round my thoughts, that I headed to the Vault Festival to see Hexenhammer by theatre firm Secretariat.
Hexenhammer, or in its English translation ‘The Hammer of Witches’, is a ebook written by two monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, in fifteenth century Germany. The ebook is a information to witch searching and in its time was the second-bestselling ebook after the Bible. It’s a horrifying textual content and extensively believed to have fuelled the witch trials which swept throughout Europe. Secretariat sort out this topic of their manufacturing, a splendidly comedian but onerous hitting feminist delight, taking us from fifteenth century monasteries to the bedrooms of contemporary day incels.
Despite the subject material, it is a humorous present, and Sidsel Rostrup and Suzy Kohane are a pleasure to observe, with their impeccable comedic timing and hilarious references. A rigorously inserted Taylor Swift quote triggers sniggers of pleasure within the room. In reality, barely 5 minutes go by with out pockets of laughter erupting all through the theatre. The chemistry between the 2 performers is magnetic – they bounce off one another and unscripted moments clearly tickle, as they struggle to not corpse: all the time a deal with to witness.
There isn’t any set to talk of; a carriage trip throughout England is demonstrated when Kohane sits on Rostrup, and easy lighting is used successfully. Costume adjustments are additionally easy however work nicely; even a barely clumsy outfit change is made comical with Kohane’s stage presence.
An unintentional impact is the sounds of the trains pulling out and in of Waterloo station above the Studio theatre on the Vaults. Whist they improvise round this comically, the unpredictable nature of the noise does trigger some issues. Kohane and Rostrup deal with it nicely, however it was distracting, as have been the sounds from the bar travelling via the wall. Vault Festival is a unbelievable platform for the humanities, however a number of the venues do have points which might be onerous to miss.
Despite the noise issues of the venue, it is a good present. It’s foolish and humorous, however it’s additionally mental and onerous hitting, which isn’t a stability many can obtain. Among all of the jokes and bodily humour, Hexenhammer lays naked how far we haven’t come for the reason that days girls have been burnt on the stake. But there’s an underlying sense of empowerment, irrespective of how onerous the patriarchy tries to maintain us down.
Written by: Secretariat, Sidsel Rostrup, Suzy Kohane
Directed by: Catherine Alexander
Hexenhammer has accomplished its run at VAULT Festival 2023.
You can discover out extra about this present in our interview right here