Venue: Paradise in The Vault, The Vault
Running time: 60 minutes
Rating: ★★★½
Reviewed by: Honour De Pledge  

I had expected this to be a play on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible through a sort of comic and (somehow) more witchy lens. What I was faced with instead was a rather more lighthearted, time-travelling free-for-all that was centred around the anachronistically ludicrous nature of the witch trials. The age rating being 12+ should have given me a clue, I suppose.

So it was not exactly what I was expecting, but of course that was my own fault. Interestingly, however, my notes on this production are rather short. Highlights include: “Great venue with a stone arch”, “fun and games”, “A lot of work went into this” and “Suds was a legend”.

I think the reason my notes were so sparse was because this was a massive project of a production. Each of the four actors plays three different characters: the accused, the accusers, and the seemingly immortal, time-travelling ‘real’ witches who are summoned back to what is clearly a very perilous time for them by a whimsical but extremely forgetful ghost. All run-of-the-mill stuff, really. It’s lighthearted, it’s fast-paced, it’s got glitzy costumes, characters who pull the most unbelievable faces, and gags that really do make you laugh. As an afternoon show, I think it perfectly hits its mark as fun for all the family.

I won’t spoil the mystery of who Suds is, although he was a real highlight for me in this expansive and deeply silly romp. You’ll just have to go and watch the play.

★★★½ – 3.5/5 Stars

If We Really Were Witches – Edinburgh Festival Fringe