The North Wall today announces Out Of The Forest Theatre as the winner of the inaugural 2019 Alchymy Company Award for their production Call Me Fury. The award was judged by journalist Lyn Gardner; co-Directors of The North Wall, Ria Parry and John Hoggarth; and Alchymy Festival producer, Ellie Keel.
The company receives £1500 and a full residency at The North Wall Arts Centre, before performances at the Alchymy Festival.
Sasha Wilson, Artistic Director of Out Of The Forest Theatre, today said ‘We are thrilled to be part of Alchymy 2019 – to work closely with the North Wall is a unique experience that will not only develop this piece, but the company as a whole’
Ria Parry and John Hoggarth today said “We are delighted to announce Out of The Forest as the winner of the North Wall Alchymy Company Award. We love their ambition and sense of ensemble and can’t wait to work with them in Oxford.”
Call Me Fury is about The Witch Trials. Sort of. It’s a ferocious exploration of womanhood in a world where the people around you, the legal system, the whole social order don’t seem to give a damn. Sound familiar?
A group of women charged with witchcraft await trial and inevitable execution in a dungeon. There is no escape – except through their imagination, memory and humour, which in defiance are wild and boundless. The gallows loom just above them as a constant and physical reminder of the patriarchy, those that believe “when a woman thinks alone, she thinks evil.”
Using folk songs and stories from witch trials across the world – from England, Colonial America, Scandinavia, Africa and beyond – their individual yet shared experiences are unified by the common thread of men silencing what they don’t understand. But they will not be confined to this dungeon; they will not be confined to history.
