In the long arc of the Scottish Witch Trials (1563-1736) there loomed a terrible recurring character: the witch pricker. A utility player in church-run, state-sanctioned interrogations, the witch pricker would prove a woman a witch by simply finding the “Devil’s mark” on her body, often a spot which would not bleed when pricked with a sharp iron rod. (Records tell us it was always a woman subjected to pricking, never a man.) Not every accused witch in Scotland met a literal witch pricker, but every accused person certainly faced interrogation and abuse; literally or figuratively, all the accused were pricked. Sure, torture was illegal in Scotland, but in a war against the Devil, what’s a little blood in the big scheme of things?

This play was inspired by the Witches of Scotland campaign “…for justice; for a legal pardon, an apology, and a memorial for the thousands of people—mostly women—that were convicted of witchcraft and executed between 1563 and 1736 in Scotland.” Learn more about the WOS campaign, the history of the Scottish witch trials, and the campaign’s living memorial—the official Witches of Scotland tartan—at www.witchesofscotland.com, where you’ll find a library of fascinating podcasts with historians and artists.

PRICK is a play steeped in history, but it is also of our time, both figuratively and literally. See this article in  The Conversation for more context about witch hunts in our modern world.

I am so grateful to director Jeff Mills and all the amazing Proboscis artists, onstage and off, who have embraced this play and Madeline Helling’s gorgeous puppets with such fierceness and vulnerability. PRICK premiered at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and has since traveled to London, New Orleans, and New Zealand. It’s a special thrill to have its first professional American production in my home town, Chicago.  

The Playwright wishes to thank Dr. Claire Mitchell QC and Zoe Venditozzi, co-authors of “How to Kill a Witch” and co-hosts of the Witches of Scotland podcast; Judith Langlands-Scott; Shaun Wilson; Dr. Julian Goodare, Ewan McAndrew and the incredible team of Wikipedians at the University of Edinburgh’s Survey of Scottish Witchcraft; Eric Simonson and the Door Kinetic Arts Festival; Amy Chaffee, Tulane University; Sarah Jack and Josh Hutchinson, endwitchhunts.org; and Rachel Newton and Lauren MacColl, healandharrow.com. With deep gratitude to the project’s originators, director Meggie Greivell and the artists at Light the Match Productions & New Celt Productions/Edinburgh Napier University.

The play you are about to watch is a miracle. A miracle created by a small group of passionate creatives. And like so many groups of creatives all over the world, working tirelessly for less than minimum wage, enduring endless stress and anxiety, creating dramatic happenings for small audiences in tiny theatres; our scrappy company has, against all odds, brought this important story to life, for you. We few, we happy few. Why do we endure these slings and arrows of stress and anxiety for no money? Because performing for live audiences and watching live performers is one of the most human things we can possibly do. We do it because it is a human birthright. We live in a time when the forces of dehumanization are gaining strength by the hour. And our mission is to use our performances to rehumanize ourselves and our community.

The subject of this play is the accusation, persecution, and execution of innocent women (and some men) during the reign of King James VI of Scotland. But the same story could be told about almost any time in human history, including twenty-first century America. We know when one group of people wants to dominate or control another, one of the primary methods has always been dehumanization. People are labelled “illegal,” “woke,” “enemy from within,” or “witch.” Historically, one of the most effective dehumanizing tactics has been to accuse someone (usually a woman) of being a witch, and thereby label that person a danger to the community. This chopped logic concludes that the accused person has made a pact with the forces of evil and used magic to harm people in the community. The accused people were normal, everyday neighbors who might have had too many contrary opinions, used traditional healing methods, engaged in non-Christian practices, or were just vulnerable peasants, unprotected by wealth or social status. These kinds of petty accusations have wreaked havoc in small towns, villages, and cities since the beginning of human kind. What makes the Scottish witch hunts significant is that a head of state, a king, legitimized, sanctioned and codified an official program that led to the investigation, torture, and execution of many thousands of innocent people. 

With this play, we hope to pay homage to the three women who were publicly dehumanized and permanently stigmatized as “witch.” We hope to rehumanize them in the collective memory by telling a bit of their true story. We conjure them into our theatrical space so they can be seen, heard, and remembered as women, and as real human beings. 

Our passionate miracle of a play uses puppets to theatrically symbolize the trauma that these women experienced. The puppet that represents the Accused is a very special part of our ensemble and she feels like a real colleague to us! Madeline Helling’s magical and beautiful puppets create a light, fantastical aspect to this show that explores such heaviness. We are so grateful to Madeline. But mostly I’m grateful to my dear friend of so many years, Laurie Flanigan Hegge. To work with her words and characters has been a tremendous gift to me and now I feel spoiled. I want to keep working with her and this team forever and ever! 

Special Thanks to my amazing cast and crew who made magic happen! Amy Chaffee, Sabra Weber, Trystan Mills, Jacinda Duffin, Paula Johnson, Charlotte Markle, The Witches of Scotland, The Rotary Club of Chicago, Martin Alcocer-Garcia, Martine Kei Green-Rogers, all Proboscis Company members, and our incredible board, Arlyne Chin, Leora Krause, and Kevin Wleklinski.

Thank you to Scottish musicians Rachel Newton and Lauren MacColl, who allowed us to use the song Eachlair from their album Heal and Harrow.

This project is partially supported by a CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and The Saints

Jeff Mills and Ashlea Woodley

Arlyne Chin

Leora Krause

Jeff Mills

Kevin Wlekinski