Here Lies Mary Spindler

“It says something about the power of live theatre that a 500-seat tent in the middle of a field was filled to overflowing at midnight on Saturday. The “theatre event”, staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company, was inspired by a recent discovery at Henham Park, the 800-acre private estate near Southwold where Latitude is staged. A mass grave, believed to be that of locals accused of witchcraft in the mid 17th century, was found, and a semi-staged play with a narrator was woven around this. It was, no pun intended, spellbinding.”

Veronica Lee, Evening Standard 20.07.09

“Directly after the madness that was Grace Jones.... I fought my way in amongst the swarming masses to see the RSC’s Latitude show, Here Lies Mary Spindler. The fire-safety officers would have had a field day had they seen the number of people squeezed into the theatre arena - I enjoyed the show from a small patch of grass behind a pillar, my face and knee pressed against a wooden pew, my body twisted to allow room for all the other people who hadn’t made it to the banked seating. This show was certainly hyped; fortunately it didn’t fail to deliver. Here Lies Mary Spindler is a supposed collaboration between the RSC and the Suffolk Trial Society, a group which concerns itself with the trials and executions of those accused of witchcraft in 17th-century Suffolk.

A short lecture from an enthusiastic member of the STS about a mass grave for witches found on the Latitude site gives way to a dramatic recreation of a trial of three presumed witches from a nearby village. The setup, although obviously fictional, is spooky enough and the cast committed enough to keep the tent entertained despite the desperately crowded conditions. .... the RSC have hit the mark with this show which, like a good old fashioned ghost story, plugs into the atmosphere exactly as it should. Today’s early evening performance will surely have a different vibe to last night’s midnight extravaganza, but these performers are strong enough to get through it. Be prepared for candlelight (which almost caused the evening to end in disaster as one of the actresses came very close to setting herself on fire), blood and plenty of terrified wailing.”

Jo Caird Whatsonstage.com