Trinity Bellwoods Park after sundown

My first experience with Summerworks was the Witch of Edmonton, This took place in Trinity park after 9PM downtown.

The crowd was about 30 people, and our gathering at the gates of the park was met by a few white faced well-wishers from the town of Edmonton, England celebrating a happy Edmonton day. We were invited on a tour around the park where we were witness to a story of betrayal and evil. Though the sounds of city were pretty loud, as we progressed into the dark and grassy park with flashlights, the cars became distant. There were still people playing around in the woods and some even stayed with the party to witness the production as it moved along. The environment was very casual. Payment was not required and one person was even filming the play as it happened.

The actors spoke with a Shakespearean tongue, but occasionally dialogue was ad-libbed between characters. The play was written back when witchery was 'real', in 1621 and it concerns an old woman shunned by villagers as a witch, a devil in the form of a dog, and a bigamist who turns to murder. We see how the machinations of men in the village are more cruel than the witch's petty vengeances and how the noble turn freely to the devil's work without any deals being made. (Though the devil certainly shows up to watch)

The play has a serious purpose, (Especially if you remember when it was written) but it was also quite funny at times, like a lot of the best plays often. Having the play out in the wide open park at night was very awesome as well. I find that a good set, whether something extensive, (Like Boxhead, The Turn of the Screw, or The Mill, or even something as free as the beauty of a city park at night) is a really big deal to me. Being able to move around the 'set' or talk with the actors really made it seem perhaps not that you were truly in Edmonton, but that these people were not just reading lines but really being the characters. (When we were first mustering up one of the townsfolk had an amusing flashlight related disputed with an 'imbecile' among the audience)

That was a lot of fun.