“The Last Night”
Written and performed by Debra Walsh and Virginia Wolf
Directed by Bryan Swormstedt
“The Last Night” will be performed at Hole in the Wall Theater on Wednesday, January 24th at 8pm.
“The Last Night” imagines Mary Barnes and Rebecca Greensmith, two real women convicted of witchcraft in 17th century Connecticut, jailed together the night before their hanging. Historical accuracy, combined with informed conjecture where there were no historical records to guide us, led to a script that explores not only the facts of the Hartford Witchcraft Panic, but the hearts and souls of two women accused and hanged.
“The Last Night” was originally commissioned by the Stanley-Whitman House in Farmington in 2022 in honor of the Mary Barnes Society. It was written and performed by Debra Walsh and Virginia Wolf as a reading at the SWH on January 25, 2023, with Bryan Swormsted directing. It imagines Mary Barnes and Rebecca Greensmith, two real women convicted of witchcraft in 17ty century Connecticut, jailed together the night before their hanging. Historical accuracy, combined with informed conjecture where there were no historical records to guide us, led to a script that explores not only the facts of the Hartford Witchcraft Panic, but the hearts and souls of two women accused and hanged.
The reading won a Certificate of Merit from the Connecticut League of History Organizations, and was so well received that Herstory Theater decided the piece should be more fully developed into a fully staged performance.
Runtime 45 minutes…talkback directly after the show
Tickets via the QR code or at www.herstorytickets.com