A review by jennykeery
The Witch of Edmonton by John Ford, Thomas Dekker, William Rowley

3.0

I thought Elizabeth Sawyer (the eponymous witch) had some excellent speeches. I think the portrayal of her transformation from an isolated old woman who is suspected of witchcraft, into an actual witch that seems to communicate with the Devil was really well-written and interesting. However, 'The Witch of Edmonton' suffers as a whole from forced, jarring plot points such as

Spoiler

Frank's abrupt, unquestioning murder of his second wife, Susan. I also found Susan's meek acceptance of her imminent death utterly ridiculous.

The fact that the play is based on the true story of a woman who was hanged for practicing witchcraft does add an interesting dimension, but I feel like this is more due to the circumstances of the case than to the authors.