Bespoken Theatre Present
ORDINARY /BESPOKEN THEATRE
Ordinary is a haunting and timely new play from award-winning Bespoken Theatre, exploring the extraordinary true story of Helen Duncan—a working-class Scottish medium imprisoned in 1944 under the Witchcraft Act of 1735.
Evoking the paranoia of wartime Britain, the play poses gripping questions: Was Helen a fraud, a spy, or a genuine medium caught in a state-sanctioned witch-hunt?
Ordinary is described as ” unforgettable, layered and sinister. theatre" Staged with evocative minimalism, the production blends physical and Epic theatre with puppetry, mask, and surrealist vaudeville, immersing audiences in a multi-sensory world of wartime seances, shadowy propaganda, and gendered injustice.
Must see theatre that is both "Brilliant and bonkers."
Ordinary resonates powerfully with contemporary audiences drawn to spiritualism, gender politics, and the re-emergence of witchcraft in cultural narratives. It invites reflection on the ways society controls, silences, and punishes defiant women—then and now. As a celebration of untold ‘herstory,’ Ordinary offers not just a gripping ghost story, but a poignant critique of power, belief, and psychological trauma.
In Helen’s own Lambeth stomping grounds, this Festival staging is a powerful tribute. Let’s celebrate the season of the witch—and finally give Helen Duncan the hearing she was denied.
"This company has a wonderful future." Kay Adshead (Thatcher's Women)
Bespoken Theatre are a female-led company committed to telling the unheard voices of women, particularly those affected by mental health and injustice. Bespoken tours to hospitals ,schools and community centres performing and delivering workshops.
"Brilliant and Enlightening."
Written & Directed by Cherie Hughes
Cast..
Abigail Halley
Sandra Mills
Cherie Hughes
Website: www.bespokentheatre.com
Insta: @bespokentheatre
Date & Time: Sunday 12th October @3pm
Running Time: 60mins
Content warnings: Age 14+ domestic abuse, war, misogyny, bereavement, themes of life after death. Audience Interaction.
Latecomers may not be admitted. Ticket purchases are non refundable.
Concession prices apply to students; under 18s; pensioners; those on disability and unemployment benefits; Equity, BECTU & SDUK members.
The Bread & Roses Theatre receives n
Venue
Venue: The Bread and Roses Theatre
Home of The Lambeth Fringe, The Bread & Roses, is an award-winning and innovative fringe pub theatre.
A 50-seat fringe venue above The Bread & Roses Pub, the theatre programs a wide-spread variety of productions for local as well as far-reaching audiences. Equality, diversity and artistic quality are at the forefront of the theatre's programming, which features in-house productions as well as many visiting companies. The theatre regularly hosts touring shows and has worked with award-winning ensembles with decades of experience but also frequently welcomes and supports emerging theatre-makers taking their first steps. The programme includes new writing, contemporary revivals, reinvented classics and occasionally also devised work, improvisational theatre, comedy events, family shows and physical theatre.
Theatre: Capacity 50, full rig, lighting desk and sound system. Projector and mics hireable.
Perfect for: Theatre, new-writing, WIP, solo shows and boundary pushing work.
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