Performance Overview

Fear spreads like fire in a small 17th-century English village, where ordinary women find themselves under immense scrutiny and suspicion. In “Vinegar Tom,” rumors take hold, neighbors turn against one another and mysterious whispers of witchcraft become a tool for control. 

Caryl Churchill’s powerful play uses witch trials as a stark lens for how women’s lives are shaped by judgment, power and fear across history. Scenes of daily life shift rapidly into escalating accusations, revealing how quickly safety can disappear when mistrust takes hold. 

Directed by fourth-year student Breylyn Brown as a senior thesis project, this production brings fresh urgency to Churchill’s text as it highlights both the resilience and vulnerability of women navigating a system built to define them — a theme that still resonates in present day.