"The Welkin" is a show that has the energy of a thriller, the tension of a court drama, the irreverent humor of a smart black comedy and the deep force of vulnerability. Lucy Kirkwood manages to turn a suspenseful story about a death sentence in eighteenth-century Britain into a relevant and acute commentary on today's society, prejudice, inequality, discrimination and the struggle for power. Her play is a plea for those who are still unseen and unheard. At a time when women were defined only by their role as mothers or wives, when Sally Poppy is sentenced to be hanged, “a jury of matrons” is assembled in a small British town. The verdict of guilt had been given, but it depends on the matrons whether her sentence will be death or deportation, if it is found that the accused is pregnant. This was the only court in which women had the right to decide.  

The play offers an effervescent debate about guilt and moral responsibility, about justice and life and death decisions, about laws and seedlings to be weeded, about rights and teething children, about divinity and healing ointments.

In a dynamic of pros and cons, the discussion about Sally's pregnancy turns into a passionate discussion about roles in society, then and now, all under the pressure of an angry crowd shouting their desire for blood and show of death.

Through the stories of some women who live their truth to its fullest, between the welkin and the earth they work hard, between the absolute and the daily burdens, real, brave, imperfect, bold and surprising characters are brought on the stage of TNB who, with humor, emotion and intelligence, overturn preconceptions, prejudices and makes us look more closely at each other.

Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu

Photo Florin Ghioca