Cathy Petocz

How do you lift the curse of a witch? Chase her cat from the shadows of your house. But when your cows start shaking, your husband won’t sleep with you, your wife’s baby turns blue? Find something to burn. Let it go up in smoke. Burn your troubles away.

New experimental arts collective COUP: Canberra and Ainslie + Gorman Arts Centres present Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom, a play about the witch trials in 17th century England. Vinegar Tom is the final work in the Ralph Indie 2016 Program, showing November 29th—December 4th, and is directed by Cathy Petocz, designed by Imogen Keen, and features an ensemble cast of local actors and seven live experimental music acts, including Passive Smoke, E.B. Kerr, Aphir, Keresiya, Alphamale, and more...

We have over twenty artists working on this project, we have the beautiful Ralph Wilson Theatre at Gorman Arts Centre to work in, and now we need your support to pay for things like artist's fees, insurance, equipment hire, design, so we can make this exciting play about a community who find themselves under the threat of a witch.

You don't like to think it of your neighbour, but if you see something, who’s to say it’s not true?

Two thirds of the funds you contribute will go towards paying artist and technical staff fees — actors, musicians, designers, operators, and the Polish artist Aleksandra Waliszewska for the use of her amazing cat painting Duzy Kot (Big Cat). A quarter will pay for the show's design (set, costumes, lighting). And the rest is for insurance and audio equipment hire!

As we are part of the Ralph Indie Program, Ainslie + Gorman Arts Centre is providing us with the rehearsal and performance space, marketing and ticketing support, and a $1000 stipend which will pay for the play's performance rights (so the playwright gets paid), audio equipment again, and the travel costs for our interstate artists.

We would like also like to thank Silo Bakery & Café for throwing us such a beautiful launch party, Thorson Photography for providing photo documentation, and Anna Mayberry for invaluable technical support, additional photography, and graphic design.

COUP: Canberra's presentation of Vinegar Tom is extremely logistically complicated! Every night of the show will feature nine actors, seven music acts (thirteen musicians in total), and a very exciting scene change which will take place during the play's interval. 

We are already in rehearsal, months out from opening night, planning and working hard to ensure we will deliver a night of exciting theatre with seven new experimental compositions from diverse genres—dream pop, drone, grunge, spooky country, and more. 

With support from Ainslie + Gorman Arts Centres' creative producers and utilising the high level of theatremaking experience of the creative team and cast, we are confident we can work through the logistical challenges of such an ambitious project.