Like many a good historical play 'Suffer a Witch' examines events from the past without applying the lens of the present but rather letting the parallels to modern times become apparent through plot, character and action. I loved the wonderfully heightened staccato dialogue and I am assuming it's the deliberate result of research because as a British reader I was struck by the use of certain slang words and idioms which may well be because it's set in colonial era America, a time when language and accent was constantly evolving. It's a play that deserves and needs to be staged.

Though Latham takes a few dramatic liberties with the historical record in this dramatization of Grace Sherwood's death, "Suffer a Witch" is nonetheless a powerful drama told in an atavistic language rich in bawdiness, blasphemy, and viscera, about how an oppressive regime fueled by misogyny and religious fanaticism will use even the random marks nature puts on one's body as a point of leverage.

A timely classic tale of a witch trial which seems all too familiar even today where a community demonizes one of their own as being "other". Cunning women, land grabs, lecherous men, poisonous potions, and trial by hanging are all featured in this Colonial witch hunt. Great understanding of the period language and politics of the time and a direct parallel to how women and minorities face persecution today!