You’ll have to be quick if you want to catch the final performances of Sabbat.
Tickets are almost sold out for the last week at The Dukes which ends on Saturday, July 21.
With tour-de-force performances from all four actors, Sabbat tells the human story behind the UK’s biggest witch trials which happened right here in Lancaster 400 years ago this August.
And The Dukes itself is midway between the Castle where those trials took place and the hill near Williamson Park where the witches were executed. The theatre is also next door to The Golden Lion pub where, legend has it, they had their last drink.
So there’s no better place than The Dukes to soak up the atmosphere of this dark period of Lancaster’s history and raise a glass to Sabbat’s successful run at the same time!
The Dukes has welcomed back the Sabbat cast and crew for their final home run.
After opening in Lancaster in early June, Sabbat has toured to four venues where it has been seen by around 3,800 people.
This home-produced drama, which tells the human story behind the UK’s biggest witch trials, will have its final performances at The Dukes beginning tomorrow night, Tuesday, and running until Saturday, July 14.
Performances take place at 7.30pm and there’s an 11am show on July 18 and a 2pm performance on July 21.
So these are your last chances to see the play which The Observer described as “psychologically acute and intriguing” in a venue thought to be on the actual route the Lancashire Witches took to their execution 400 years ago this August.
What are you waiting for?
One member of the Sabbat team particularly pleased that the play is being staged in Colne is its writer, Richard Shannon.
Richard has family links to Colne and knows the area well having visited it much during his research for Sabbat.
His partner’s father, John Hodgson, was brought up in the town and her uncle, Stephen Hodgson, who was a Colne undertaker, still lives there.
Richard said: “I visit the Colne area a lot and when researching Sabbat I spent a long time there and on Pendle Hill which was very inspiring.
“It is a very mysterious and romantic part of the country with an extraordinary atmosphere.”
Colne is the closest place to where the Pendle witches lived that Sabbat will be performed.
“It’s going to be very exciting for Colne audiences to see Sabbat so close to where the real story took place as this play really brings local history and geography alive,” said Richard.
Sabbat has arrived in Pendle Witch country…and here’s the proof!
Our team have made it back Up North from last week’s first ever Dukes run at a London theatre and are now settling in at The Muni in Colne.
Pendle Hill, which has so many associations with the Lancashire Witch story, looms over Colne and the surrounding area and is an inspiring sight for our cast and crew who have now been on the road for almost a month.
After playing in a baronial residence and two permanent theatres in the round, Sabbat moves to the traditional Edwardian theatre setting of The Muni.
The stage will be set in the main hall so the audience can be close to the drama which was played out for real just a few miles away 400 years ago.
It’s almost a homecoming for Sabbat director, Amy Leach, who hails from nearby Darwen and is due to be interviewed live on Radio Lancashire’s Breakfast Show tomorrow morning.
We wish Amy and all the Sabbat team a great first night at The Muni tonight!
Sabbat’s run at The Orange Tree in Richmond is gathering interest from audiences and critics alike.
Press night was held on Tuesday and the reviews are now rolling in.
Here are a couple from The British Theatre Guide and The Public Reviews.
http://www.thepublicreviews.com/sabbat-orange-tree-theatre-richmond/
http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/sabbat-orange-tree-the-7659
To find out whether or not you agree with the critics, get along to The Orange Tree before this Saturday, July 7, or – if you’re Northern-based – try it out at The Muni, Colne from July 10-14 or back at its spiritual home, The Dukes, from July 17-21.
This photo was taken by one of The Dukes team down in Richmond where Sabbat’s really getting noticed!
The Dukes has made it to London at last!
Sabbat is the first Dukes homegrown play to be performed on a London stage and it seems audiences at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond are appreciating our telling of a story with Lancashire at its heart.
The Orange Tree is close to the hunting ground of King James I who reigned during the Lancashire Witch Trials so perhaps that’s one reason why yesterday’s opening performances were so well received.
The Orange Tree is London’s only permanent theatre in-the-round. The Dukes too has a permanent theatre in-the-round and has something else in common with The Orange Tree as both venues were founded in 1971 so we’re both 40 this year!
Here’s a photo of a scene being rehearsed at The Orange Tree when the cast arrived earlier this week.
Our Sabbat team have moved on from The New Vic Theatre and are now down in sunny Richmond where they open the show tonight. We’re wishing them all a fantastic opening night and can’t wait to hear their news and updates from down south! Here are some pics of their final day at The New Vic, watch this space for more pics from the current leg of their adventure coming soon…
