Review: Holly Morgan: Is A Witch, Get Her!, VAULT Festival

Witch please! Holly Morgan: Is A Witch, Get Her! is some comedy that stirs you think at the VAULT Festival

” Write a funny story about witches “theyre saying” …”

Pass it round, Holly Morgan: Is A Witch, Get Her ! An innocuous schoolyard razz provides as the starting point for a veritable odyssey of discovery for Morgan as she seeks to reclaim the word from its long and distressed history. And as we find out, it is a history that is as often horrendous as it is surprising, though accompanied by her new partner Tom Moores( in a retrieve black catsuit, natch) and some hefty vocal power, it’s an solely engaging expedition.

In some modes, the display provides as an interesting friend article to Call Me Fury interpreted earlier at this year’s VAULT Festival, also seeking to reappraise societal interpretings of witchcraft with a musical twist. Morgan’s comic flooring clearly directs the show in a different direction but there’s still something so compelling about looking at the many lanes the patriarchy has abused the term in order to maintain the status quo.

Together with head Lisa Millar, Morgan balances the revelations of her research with a finely tuned strand of comic observation. Applying Moores as her stooge/ sidekick/ spouse is a neat touch here, always ready with a quick quip or parody( I don’t know why Shakespeare as a Brummie was quite so funny but I thought it was inspired ). And the musical interlude prove an eloquent addition to the script, especially with Morgan’s gift for mimicry.

But it is the probing into the centuries-long doubled criterion that persists most in the mind. Merlin is dead to me now, Arthur Miller’s on the roster, as is the Scottish Parliament( justice for Helen Duncan) – you can’t help but be scandalized at some of the facts of the case Morgan hits us with here, along with some truly disturbing wax figures. This is comedy that induces you think. As such, the finale then comes as a palate-cleanser that isn’t necessarily needed, as impressive as Morgan’s diva impersonations are, she could afford us more time to ruminate on the study she has just delivered.

Running period: 1 hour( without interval) Holly Morgan: Is A Witch, Get Her! is booking at the VAULT Festival until 3rd March

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