Gavin Gilliland – Staff Writer
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The Department of Theatre taps into social justice issues with a storyline following the daily lives of women.
Vinegar Tom, named after a minor character in the play, crosses disciplines with its emphasis on social justice and its implication in the arts and literature. The student play, written in 1976 by British playwright Caryl Churchill, was recently performed at UAB’s Alys Stephens Center.
Churchill is known for her strong feminist themes that challenge stereotypical gender and power roles, and Vinegar Tom is no different. Throughout the play there is a constant power struggle between men and women, set in the backdrop of the 17th century witch trials in England.
“Being a part of Vinegar Tom required extensive table work by the entire cast. Before taking the play to the stage or even starting the blocking, the cast spent several weeks researching the 17th century time period and several issues discussed in the play.” said Nadia Harden, a sophomore theatre major and one of the performers. “It was vital that each cast member truly understood how difficult and dirty living during 17th century England was.”
Upon entry to the intimate Odess Theatre, patrons were immediately greeted by a very minimalist stage set, leaving much of the setting up to the imagination of the audience.
Without forewarning, the lights dim and the actors enter from the back of the room through the main doors. This continues throughout the play, providing a very immersive experience for the audience.
“Although Vinegar Tom was not a musical, there were songs deliberately included throughout the play,” Harden said. “Upon first reading of the play the songs may seem to interrupt the flow of dialogue. But upon further analysis it’s quite apparent that the songs Churchill added help with the cohesive flow of the piece. Since the play did not have an intermission, the songs helped to give the entirety of the play a new found rhythm.”
The play transports the audience to 17th century England to witness a time riddled with gender inequality, male power complexes and brutal, disorganized witch trials. While this play was written in 1976 and set in the 1600s, some parallels can be drawn to our time, as Harden points out.
“This serves the purpose of teaching viewers to not be fearful of the unknown. It highlights the power of women and how society as a whole has tried to belittle women everywhere since the beginning of time,” Harden said. “Instead of being fearful of each others’ differences, embracing them can greatly help to propel society forward. Much like in society today, characters in the play that were deemed as different were automatically ostracized from society. These differences put people into opposing groups whose sole purpose was the demise of people who didn’t act or look like them.”
Amidst the mundane struggles in the storyline, which depicts women tangled in troubles such as unplanned pregnancies, belligerent neighbors and petty romance sorrows, the play still leaves room for the audience to draw parallels to modern political struggles.
“The election as a whole was built on fear and pitting groups of people against one another. One of the candidates running for president even made references to women being “nasty” which was essentially the reasoning behind women being accused of witchcraft in the play,” said Harden in regard to how the play could be applied to today’s political environment. “In response, during the last song of the play, the cast changed the last line of the play to “nasty women” instead of evil women.”
