The Witch of Edmonton

Author(s): Ford, John; Rowley, William
Date of composition:
  • 1621
Date of first performance: 1621
Date of first publication: 1658
Genre (Annals): Tragicomedy
Genre: tragedy [source of genre: Wiggins, vol. 7, p. 357]

Catalogue references: Wiggins: 1992 (Vol. 7)
HIERONIMO/EMOTHE text(s): 1658 quarto transcript
  • 1658 quarto Cottrell, James Blackmore, Edward single-play print
      ESTC: R1276 R2097 1151 785a
      EEBO-TCP: A57764 - [reproduction unidentified] - EEBO record – TCP HTML XML HTML

  • STC/WING:
  • ESTC:
  • DEEP:
  • Greg:
  • Wiggins:

Early Performances

  • Company: Prince Charles' Men Venue: The Cockpit Date: 1621 approx,
    Cast:
      Location: Venue type: commercial theatre
      Note: Indoor “private” theatre
      Information source: Wiggins, Martin. British Drama 1533-1642: A Catalogue. Volume 7: 1617-1623. 2017.
    • Company: Prince Charles' Men Venue: Whitehall Palace Date: 1621
      Cast:
        Location: Venue type: palace / court
        Note: 29 December
        Information source: Wiggins, Martin. British Drama 1533-1642: A Catalogue. Volume 7: 1617-1623. 2017.
      • Company: Queen Henrietta’s Men Venue: The Cockpit Date: 1635 approx,
        Cast:
        • Bird, Theophilus
        • Fenn, Ezekiel
        Location: Venue type: commercial theatre
        Note: Venue presumed. Indoor “private” theatre
        Information source: Wiggins, Martin. British Drama 1533-1642: A Catalogue. Volume 7: 1617-1623. 2017.

      Modern Productions

      • Phoenix Society. Dir. Montague Summers. Perf. included Sybil Thorndike (Mother Sawyer); Russel Thorndike (Dog); Ion Swinley (Frank Thorney); Frank Cochrane (Cuddy Banks); Joseph A. Dodd (Old Carter); and Edith Evans (Anne Ratcliffe). Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. 1921
      • Denis, Michel, dir. Perf. Edith Evans (Mother Sawyer); Hedley Briggs (Dog); Marius Goring (Frank Thorney); Beatrix Lehman (Winifred); Ian Mackenzie (Cuddy Banks); Alec Guiness (Old Thorney); Michael Redgrave (Warbeck). Old Vic, London. 1936
      • Miles, Bernard, dir. Perf. Ruby Head (Mother Sawyer); Melvyn Hayes (Dog); William Lucas (Frank Thorney); Timothy Bateson (Cuddy Banks); Ann Lynn (Winifred); Olive McFarland (Susan). Mermaid Theatre, London. 1962.
      • Royal Shakespeare Company. Dir. Barry Kyle. Perf. Miriam Karlin (Mother Sawyer); Miles Anderson (Dog); Gerard Murphy (Frank Thorney); Harriet Walter (Winifred); Juliet Stevenson (Susan); Anthony O’Donnell (Cuddy Banks); Andrew Jarvis (Ratcliffe); Julia Hills (Ann Ratcliffe). The Other Place. 1981.
      • Fry, Helen, dir. Perf. Joan Marlow (Mother Sawyer); Charlotte Knigth (Dog); Christopher Helmsdale (Frank Thorney). Hen and Chickens, London. 1992.
      • Hinton, Peter, dir. Perf. Greg Krammer (Dog); Sandra Oh (Cuddy Banks); Dragana Varagic (Ann Ratcliffe). Harbourfront, Toronto. 1993.
      • REV Theater. Dir. and adapt. Rosemary Hay. Perf. Susan Moses (Mother Sawyer), Jeffries Thaiss (Frank Thorney), Rudy Caporaso (Dog). Expanded Arts, New York; Festival of Arts and Ideas, Stamford, Conn.; Birck Playhouse, Philadelphia; Chashama, New York. 1999-2001. Revival in 2010.
      • Cox, Simon, dir. Perf. included Deirdre Doone (Mother Sawyer); Paul Panting (Dog); Tom Foster (Frank Thorney); Chris Garner (Cuddy Banks). Southwark Playhouse. 2000.
      • Dalhousie Theatre Productions. Dir. Roberta Barker. Perf. Christi Forte (Mother Sayer), Charise Mancini (Frank Thorney), Kimberley Cody (Dog), Nick MacInnes (Cuddy Banks). Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 2008.
      • Periwig and Monkey. Dir. and adapt. Natasha Dawn. Courtyard Theatre, London. 2009.
      • Red Light District Theatre Company. Dir. Catherine Dunn and Ted Witzel. Perf. Mina James (Mother Sawyer), Jonah Hundert (Frank Thorney), Ted Witzel (Dog), Reid Linforth (Cuddy Banks). Trinity Bell Woods, Toronto. 2010.
      • Berger, Jesse, dir. Perf. Charlayne Woodard (Mother Sawyer), Justin Blanchard (Frank Thorney), Derek Smith (Dog), Adam Green (Cuddy Banks). Theatre of St. Clements, New York. 2011.
      • Royal Shakespeare Company. Dir. Greg Doran. Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 2014.

      Modern editions

      • Munro, Lucy, ed. The Witch of Edmonton. London: Bloomsbury, 2017. Arden Early Modern Drama.
      • Wiggins, Martin, ed. The Witch of Edmonton. In: A Woman Killed with Kindness and Other Domestic Plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 129–197. Oxford World Classics series.
      • Corbin, Peter; Sedge, Douglas, ed. The Witch of Edmonton. Dekker, Thomas;Ford, John; Rowley, William. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999. The Revels Plays.
      • Kinney, Arthur F., ed. The Witch of Edmonton. London: A & C Black, 1998. New Mermaids.
      • Corbin, Peter; Sedge, Douglas, ed. The Witch of Edmonton. Dekker, Thomas; Ford, John; Rowley, William. In: Three Jacobean Witchcraft Plays. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1986, pp. 143–209. (Revels Plays Companion Library series).
      • Omat, Etta Soiret, ed. The Witch of Edmonton. Dekker,Thomas; Ford, John; Rowley, William. New York: Garland Pub, 1980. Garland Renaissance Drama.
      • Lawrence, Robert G., ed. Jacobean and Caroline Comedies. London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1973. Everyman’s Library.
      • Bowers, Fredson, ed. The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1958, pp. 481–586.

      Select Bibliography: Translations

      • FR:
        • Dekker, Thomas; Ford, John; Rowley, William. "La sorcière d’Edmonton". Ed. Cottegnies, Line; Laroque, François; Maguin, Jean-Marie. Tra. Villquin, Jean-Pierre. Théâtre élisabéthain. Paris: Gallimard, 2009. Vol. 2.
      • DE:
        • Ford, John; Dekker, Thomas; Rowley, William. "Die Hexe von Edmonton". John Ford’s dramatische Dichtungen: neben Stücken von Dekker und Rowley. Berlin: Verlag der Königlichen Geheimen Ober-Hofbuchdr, 1860, p. 1-142.

      Select Bibliography: Criticism

      • Nicol, David. "'I Knew Not How to Call Her Now': The Bigamist's Second Wife in 'The Witch of Edmonton' and 'All's Lost By Lust". Comparative Drama. 2016, vol. 4, 50, p. 317-339.
      • Walker, Katherine. "Early Modern Almanacs and 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Early Modern Literary Studies. 2015, vol. 1/2, 18, .
      • Wymer, Rowland. "A Performance History of 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Early Modern Literary Studies. 2014, vol. 2, 17, .
      • Ruberry-Blanc, Pauline. "'The Witch of Edmonton': The Witch Next Door or Faustian Anti-Heroine". Ed. Hillman, Richard; Ruberry-Blanc, Pauline. Female Transgression in Early Modern Britain: Literary and Historical Explorations. Farnham: Ashgate, 2014, p. 51-69.
      • Cunin, Muriel. "'Within/This ruined cottage': witchcraft, domesticity and inwardness in 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Cahiers élisabéthains. 2014, 85, p. 41-55.
      • Conaway, Chuck. "The dead can speak; or, The testament of Elizabeth Sawyer in Dekker, Ford, and Rowley's 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference: Selected Papers. 2014, 7, .
      • Loeb, Andrew. "'My poor fiddle is bewitched': music, magic, and the theatre in 'The Witch of Edmonton' and 'The Late Lancashire Witches'". Ed. Hopkins, Lisa; Ostovich, Helen. Magical transformations on the Early Modern English stage. {Falta nombre ciudad}: {Falta nombre editorial}, 2014, p. 215-32.
      • Escolme, Bridget. "Putting it on the floor: Naturalism and the Verfremdungseffekt in 'The Tempest' and 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Shakespeare Bulletin. 2013, vol. 4, 31, p. 689-707.
      • Butler, Todd. "Swearing justice in Henry Goodcole and 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Studies in English Literature 1500-1900. 2010, vol. 1, 50, p. 127-45.
      • O'Mahoney, Katherine. "The Witch Figure: 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Seventeenth Century. 2009, vol. 2, 24, p. 238-259.
      • Johnson, Sarah. "Female bodies, speech, and silence in 'The Witch of Edmonton'.". Early Theatre. 2009, vol. 1, 12, p. 69-91.
      • Barker, Roberta. "'An honest dog yet': performing 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Early Theatre. 2009, vol. 2, 12, p. 163-82.
      • Pearson, Meg F. "A dog, a witch, a play: 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Early Theatre. 2008, vol. 2, 11, p. 89-111.
      • Kezar, Dennis. "'The Witch of Edmonton' and the guilt of possession". Ed. Kezar, Dennis. Solon and Thespis: law and theater in the English Renaissance. Notre Dame: Notre Dame UP, 2007, p. 124-60.
      • Garrett, Julia M. "Dramatizing deviance: sociological theory and 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Criticism. 2007, vol. 3, 49, p. 327-75.
      • Vella Bonavita, Helen. "Maids, wives and widows: multiple meaning and marriage in 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Parergon. 2006, vol. 2, 23, p. 73-95.
      • Nicol, David. "Interrogating the Devil: Social and Demonic Pressure in 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Comparative Drama. 2004, vol. 4, 38, p. 425-46.
      • Stymeist, David. "'Must I be ... made a common sink?': witchcraft and the theatre in 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Renaissance and Reformation/Renaissance et réforme. 2001, vol. 2, 37, p. 33-53.
      • Grinnell, Richard W. "Naming and social disintegration in 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Essays in Theatre/Études théâtrales. 1998, vol. 2, 16, p. 209-23.
      • Piazza, Antonella. "'The Witch of Edmonton': the space of the witch's body as formation and critique of the enclosed body". Textus. 1996, vol. 1, 9, p. 161-72.
      • Born-Lechleitner, Ilse. "Implicit social criticism in 'The Witch of Edmonton'.". Ed. Hogg, James. Jacobean drama as social criticism. Lewiston: Mellen Press, 1995, p. 261-74.
      • Wang, I-Chun. "The historiography of witch-hunting: discipline of the unruly in 'The Witch of Edmonton' and 'Vinegar Tom'". Tamkang Review. 1995, vol. 3/4, 25, p. 267-78.
      • Comensoli, Viviana. "Witchcraft and Domestic Tragedy in 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Ed. Brink, Jean R.; Coudert, Allison P.; Horowitz, Maryanne C.. The Politics of Gender in Early Modern Europe. {Falta nombre ciudad}: {Falta nombre editorial}, 1989, p. 43-60.
      • Dawson, Anthony B. "Witchcraft/bigamy: cultural conflict in 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Renaissance Drama. 1989, 20, p. 77-98.
      • Rigaud, Nadia J. "Cuddy Banks: Une Très Longue Mémoire; L'Attitude de Rowley envers une mentalité archaïque dans 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Mythes, Croyances et Religions dans le Monde Anglo-Saxon. 1988, 6, p. 81-95.
      • Tempera, Mariangela. "'The Witch of Edmonton': La straga come capro espiatorio in un 'Morality Play' jacomiano". Analysis: Quaderni di Anglistica. 1986, 4, p. 57-72.
      • Champion, Larry S. "'Factions of Distempered Passions': The Development of John Ford's Tragic Vision in 'The Witch of Edmonton' and 'The Lover's Melancholy'". Ed. Anderson, Donald K., Jr. "Concord in Discord": The Plays of John Ford, 1586-1986. New York: AMS, 1986, p. 109-130.
      • Hattaway, Michael. "Women and Witchcraft: The Case of 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Trivium. 1985, 20, p. 49-68.
      • Atkinson, David. "Moral knowledge and the double action in 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Studies in English Literature 1500-1900. 1985, 25, p. 419-37.
      • Atkinson, David. "The two plots of 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Notes and Queries. 1984, 31, p. 229-30.
      • Brodwin, Leonora Leet. "The Domestic Tragedy of Frank Thorney in 'The Witch of Edmonton'". Studies in English Literature 1500-1900. 1967, 7, p. 311-28.
      • Sackville-West, Edward. "The Significance of 'The Witch of Edmonton'". New Criterion. 1938, 17, p. 23-32.
      • Sykes, H. Dugdale. "The Authorship of the 'Witch of Edmonton'". Notes and Queries. 1926, 151, p. 453-7.

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