'Coven' review — this stirring new musical puts a feminist spin on 17th-century witch trials

Read our review of Coven, starring Gabrielle Brooks, Allyson Ava-Brown, Shiloh Coke and Diana Vickers, now in performances at the Kiln Theatre to 13 December.

Summary

• New musical Coven has its world premiere at the Kiln Theatre
• Rebecca Brewer and Daisy Chute's show is inspired by real-life witch trials in the 17th century
• Gabrielle Brooks plays accused woman and accuser Jenet
• The excellent cast also features Allyson Ava-Brown and Diana Vickers

In 1612, a child called Jenet Device gave evidence against her family, condemning them all to death for witchcraft. Twenty-one years later, a woman of the same name was arrested for the same charge. That circularity serves as the starting point for Rebecca Brewer (music, lyrics, book) and Daisy Chute’s (music, lyrics, orchestrations) new musical Coven, based around the Pendle witch trials of the early 17th century.

With echoes of SIX, Hamilton, and Emilia (Morgan Lloyd Malcolm was involved in Coven’s development at one point), Brewer and Chute’s show has been in the works since 2018 and it is imbued with plenty of burning anger and several stirring musical moments. However, as so many ingredients have been thrown into the cauldron, it needs a stronger book to support the weight of its themes. Miranda Cromwell’s production frequently struggles to form a coherent whole and the piece comes across as preachy rather than organic storytelling.

Thrown into prison, the self-righteous Jenet (Gabrielle Brooks) encounters healer Maggie (Jacinta Whyte), midwife Nell (Allyson Ava-Brown), landowner’s wife Frances (Shiloh Coke), plain-speaking, pregnant Rose (Lauryn Redding), and her mother Martha (Penny Layden). The characters as written are heavily reliant on archetypes and the performances aren’t entirely consistent in tone, with some of the cast adopting a naturalistic stance, while others are more stylised.

It isn’t easy handling such bleak subject matter based on real history and translating it into entertainment in a respectful way. It can’t all be mournful ballads (though there are some good ones here), but the first-act production number, in which the fake child witness Edmund (Diana Vickers) delivers his evidence through upbeat pop and a bit of rap, doesn’t have enough satirical bite to avoid suggestions of making light of the tragedy.

The folk-style numbers are the best. “Common Woman”, first affectingly sung by Layden and reprised several times, is a powerful homage to the women who work the land for little reward but are indispensable for keeping society ticking over. And Nell’s anthem advocating for reproductive rights is a strong protest number delivered by the magnetic Ava-Brown. As she remarks, it might be up to God to give and take away life, but he’s never offered to babysit – it would be good if there were more witty lines like this and fewer on-the-nose proclamations.

Jasmine Swan provides a concrete-y set design, with the characters dressed in sickly green uniforms; the contrast between the oppressive prison conditions and outdoors is highlighted by Zeynep Kepekli’s lighting. The scent of lavender permeates the auditorium as a sign of feminine healing powers (bit of a historical myth) and flames arise from the stage during the 11 o’clock number.

The second act begins with a chaotic song about the 1486 book Malleus Malificarum and King James I’s obsession with witches, followed by an extended dream sequence. We see the young Jenet, a literal puppet (design by Oliver Hymans for Little Angel Theatre and direction by Laura Cubitt), who is groomed by a witch hunter. She emerges from the flashback as a reformed character in full battle mode to lead the rousing “Burn Our Bodies”, in which the women rail against their common enemy: the patriarchy.

This feminist note, which sees the formation of a fragile sisterhood in perilous conditions, is beautiful but encapsulates the show’s struggle to bring these women to life as flesh-and-blood individuals rather than as an empowering idea.

Coven is at the Kiln Theatre to 13 December. Book Coven tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Coven (Photos by Marc Brenner)