Vinegar Tom

Collins Library
University of Puget Sound

ViNeGaR Tom by CaRyL ChUrCHill: A DrAmAturgY PaGe

TabLe oF ConTeNTs IntRoDucTion

Witchcraft Web Sites
Books on Witchcraft
Articles on Witchcraft
Production Reviews
Dramaturgical Questions
Vinegar Tom Articles
About the Playwright
Feminism in the Seventies

This page was developed as a Production Research project for the University of Puget Sound production of Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill. It is intended to inform the cast and crew about various aspects of the play. There is information on witchcraft, production reviews, and web sites. On a separate page, there is a listing of dramaturgical questions raised by the cast and crew during pre-production.

Questions about the content should be directed to Lori Ricigliano, library liaison to the Theatre Department.

WitChcrAFT WeB SitES
Basics of Witchcraft A Wiccan perspective of the topic

Groton In The Witchcraft Times A primary text by Samuel Green, 1671

Medieval Sourcebook: Witchcraft Documents [15th Century] Includes three documents: The Papal Bull of 1484, in which the pope provided his blessing and encouragement to witchhunting; a 1436 account of some beliefs about witches by Dominican scholar Johannes Nider; and an extract from the Hammer of Witches [Malleus Maleficarum], 1486, describing the process of examination and trial.

Salem Witchcraft Trials Using source documents, images, RealAudio files, description and commentary, information about each trial may include biographies, maps, chronologies, pictures, original documents, and bibliographies.

17th Century Colonial New England Images and facsimiles, with special emphasis on the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692

Spirits, Witches, & Science: Why the Rise of Science Encouraged Belief in the Supernatural in 17th-Century England Reprint of an article by Richard Olson from Skeptic vol. 1, no. 4, Winter 1992, pp. 34-43.

Witchcraft and Wicca Covers topics from a Wiccan perspective. Includes witchcraft in Africa, Europe, and North America; Wicca and christianity; and modern-day Wicca.

Witchcraft Bibliography Project Books and articles in many languages about witchcraft in early modern Europe.

Witchcraft in Salem Village Essays and other resources, including court documents, of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
Witchcraft Trials in Later Medieval England A bibliography compiled for a master's thesis entitled "Witchcraft Trials and the Origins of the Witchcraze in Later Medieval England, 1300-1500"

WItcHcraFt ArtiCLes WiTchCrAfT BooKs

Use the following databases to find articles on witchcraft:

America: History & Life
a source for scholarly articles, books, and dissertations covering U.S. history
ATLA Religion Database
includes biblical studies, world religions church history, religious perspectives on social issues.
Historical Abstracts
a source for scholarly articles, books, and dissertations covering world history
Humanities International Complete
includes articles on history, literature, philosophy, religion
Research Library
a general database covering a mix of popular and scholarly articles
Academic Search Premier
a general database covering a mix of popular and scholarly articles
Women's Studies International
covers the history, literature, and culture of women Library books on witchcraft may be found in the general collection.
Do a subject search in SIMON on Witchcraft or Witchcraft--England.

PrOduCTion ReViEws ViNeGaR Tom Web Sites

The Bane of Womanhood; Play Portrays Woeful Plight. Los Angeles Daily News, November 22, 1997, TO3.
Cameos: Vinegar Tom. Village Voice, April 7, 1992, p. 102.
"Good Direction Saves Preachy Play on Witch Hunts. The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA, April 29, 1999, Section A, p.08.
Vinegar Tom a bewitching drama. Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1987, Part 6; page 6. [full-text available via Academic Universe]
Women Who Fight On When There Is No Hope. New York Times, March 21, 1992. Section 1; page 14. [full-text available via Academic Universe].
Arizona State University
a production site
Nobody Sings About It: In Defense of the Songs in Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom
Conference Paper Abstract
University of Denver
Scenic and Lighting Design

VINegar toM ArTiCles
'Alice Doesn't': Refusing the Seduction of the Narrative in Caryl Churchill's Vinegar Tom by Panayotis Domvros. Gamma: Journal of Theory and Criticism, vol. 2, 1994, pp. 47-60.
Beyond Brecht: Britain's New Feminist Drama by Janelle Reinelt. Theatre Journal, vol. 38 no. 2, May 1986, pp. 154-63.
The Historiography of Witch-Hunting: Discipline of the Unruly on the Witch of Edmonton and Vinegar Tom by I-chun Wang. Tamkang Review: A Quarterly of Comparative Studies between the Chinese and Foreign Literatures, vol. 25 no. 3-4, Spring-Summer 1995, pp. 267-78.
Monsters and Heroines: Caryl Churchill's Women by Lisa Merrill. IN Caryl Churchill: A Casebook, edited by Phyllis R. Randall. Garland, 1988, pp. 71-89.

Stereotype and Prototype: Character in the Plays of Caryl Churchill by Austin E. Quigley. IN Feminine Focus: The New Women Playwrights, edited by Enoch Brater. Oxford University Press, 1989, pp. 25-52.

AbOUt The PLayWRigHt
Caryl Churchill was born in London, September 3, 1938. She was educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and received a degree in English in 1960. It was there that her first plays were produced, beginning with Downstairs (1958). She married lawyer David Harter in 1961 and had three sons. During the 1960s and early 1970s, she wrote plays mostly for radio and television broadcast. while caring for her young children. The plays frequently focused on male characters and are often about family and psychological themes. Churchill's first major theatrical break came in 1972, when the Royal Court Theatre produced Owners. The play addresses issues of social class power structures. Devoting more of her time to the stage, she began working with theatre groups, an experience she found "exhilarating, exhausting, and fruitful." With Monstrous Regiment, a feminist theater collective, she wrote Vinegar Tom (1976), a play which shows how the witch hunts of the seventeenth century used non-conforming women as scapegoats in a time of social unrest. Since the mid-1970s, Caryl Churchill has ranked among Britain's leading playwrights. Her work deals with a variety of social and political issues, many of them controversial, yet she manages to reach a broad spectrum of audiences. Socialists and feminists find much to admire in her work, and the general public finds a good night of theater.
Read more about her! Caryl Churchill : a casebook [PR6053.H786 Z64]; The plays of Caryl Churchill: theatre of empowerment [PR6053.H786 Z75]; Contemporary Dramatists [PR106 .V5 REF], pp. 100+; British Dramatists Since World War II [PR106 .B74 REF], vol. 2, pp. 118+; Feminist Writers [PN 451 .A8 F46 REF], pp. 103-104.

FeMINiSm iN tHe 70s
In the seventies, the feminist movement continued to move forward, albeit slowly. Although pay differentials remained glaringly disparate, the number of women entering business, law, medicine and engineering rapidly increased during the decade. But the movement was decentralized and often internally divided, ranging from traditional, to moderate, to extreme. Spokeswomen--such as Marabel Morgan, Gloria Steinem, Shulamith Firestone and Phyllis Schlafly--demonstrated the wide range of views. Women's groups continued to press for equal employment opportunities, child care centers and abortion reform. The capstone of these efforts was the 1972 passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, but the required approval by the state legislature was lacking by decade's end.
Source: Day by Day: The Seventies, xvi.
Read more about it: Search Feminism Great Britain History 20th Century or Feminism United States History 20th Century in SIMON, the library's online catalog.

Table of Contents | Dramaturgy Questions | Library Homepage |

Content Contact: Lori Ricigliano
developed 9.99, rev. 1.03
URL: http://library.ups.edu/instruct/ricig/vtom.htm


`WitChcrAFT WeB SitES`
Basics of Witchcraft A Wiccan perspective of the topic Groton In The Witchcraft Times A primary text by Samuel Green, 1671 Medieval Sourcebook: Witchcraft Documents [15th Century] Includes three documents: The Papal Bull of 1484, in which the pope provided his blessing and encouragement to witchhunting; a 1436 account of some beliefs about witches by Dominican scholar Johannes Nider; and an extract from the Hammer of Witches [Malleus Maleficarum], 1486, describing the process of examination and trial. Salem Witchcraft Trials Using source documents, images, RealAudio files, description and commentary, information about each trial may include biographies, maps, chronologies, pictures, original documents, and bibliographies. 17th Century Colonial New England Images and facsimiles, with special emphasis on the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 Spirits, Witches, & Science: Why the Rise of Science Encouraged Belief in the Supernatural in 17th-Century England Reprint of an article by Richard Olson from Skeptic vol. 1, no. 4, Winter 1992, pp. 34-43. Witchcraft and Wicca Covers topics from a Wiccan perspective. Includes witchcraft in Africa, Europe, and North America; Wicca and christianity; and modern-day Wicca. Witchcraft Bibliography Project Books and articles in many languages about witchcraft in early modern Europe. Witchcraft in Salem Village Essays and other resources, including court documents, of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Witchcraft Trials in Later Medieval England A bibliography compiled for a master's thesis entitled "Witchcraft Trials and the Origins of the Witchcraze in Later Medieval England, 1300-1500"

`WItcHcraFt ArtiCLes`	`WiTchCrAfT BooKs`
Use the following databases to find articles on witchcraft: America: History & Life a source for scholarly articles, books, and dissertations covering U.S. history ATLA Religion Database includes biblical studies, world religions church history, religious perspectives on social issues. Historical Abstracts a source for scholarly articles, books, and dissertations covering world history Humanities International Complete includes articles on history, literature, philosophy, religion Research Library a general database covering a mix of popular and scholarly articles Academic Search Premier a general database covering a mix of popular and scholarly articles Women's Studies International covers the history, literature, and culture of women	Library books on witchcraft may be found in the general collection. Do a subject search in SIMON on Witchcraft or Witchcraft--England.

`PrOduCTion ReViEws`	`ViNeGaR Tom Web Sites`
The Bane of Womanhood; Play Portrays Woeful Plight. Los Angeles Daily News, November 22, 1997, TO3. Cameos: Vinegar Tom. Village Voice, April 7, 1992, p. 102. "Good Direction Saves Preachy Play on Witch Hunts. The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA, April 29, 1999, Section A, p.08. Vinegar Tom a bewitching drama. Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1987, Part 6; page 6. [full-text available via Academic Universe] Women Who Fight On When There Is No Hope. New York Times, March 21, 1992. Section 1; page 14. [full-text available via Academic Universe].	Arizona State University a production site Nobody Sings About It: In Defense of the Songs in Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom Conference Paper Abstract University of Denver Scenic and Lighting Design
`VINegar toM ArTiCles`
'Alice Doesn't': Refusing the Seduction of the Narrative in Caryl Churchill's Vinegar Tom by Panayotis Domvros. Gamma: Journal of Theory and Criticism, vol. 2, 1994, pp. 47-60. Beyond Brecht: Britain's New Feminist Drama by Janelle Reinelt. Theatre Journal, vol. 38 no. 2, May 1986, pp. 154-63. The Historiography of Witch-Hunting: Discipline of the Unruly on the Witch of Edmonton and Vinegar Tom by I-chun Wang. Tamkang Review: A Quarterly of Comparative Studies between the Chinese and Foreign Literatures, vol. 25 no. 3-4, Spring-Summer 1995, pp. 267-78. Monsters and Heroines: Caryl Churchill's Women by Lisa Merrill. IN Caryl Churchill: A Casebook, edited by Phyllis R. Randall. Garland, 1988, pp. 71-89. Stereotype and Prototype: Character in the Plays of Caryl Churchill by Austin E. Quigley. IN Feminine Focus: The New Women Playwrights, edited by Enoch Brater. Oxford University Press, 1989, pp. 25-52.

`AbOUt The PLayWRigHt`
Caryl Churchill was born in London, September 3, 1938. She was educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and received a degree in English in 1960. It was there that her first plays were produced, beginning with Downstairs (1958). She married lawyer David Harter in 1961 and had three sons. During the 1960s and early 1970s, she wrote plays mostly for radio and television broadcast. while caring for her young children. The plays frequently focused on male characters and are often about family and psychological themes. Churchill's first major theatrical break came in 1972, when the Royal Court Theatre produced Owners. The play addresses issues of social class power structures. Devoting more of her time to the stage, she began working with theatre groups, an experience she found "exhilarating, exhausting, and fruitful." With Monstrous Regiment, a feminist theater collective, she wrote Vinegar Tom (1976), a play which shows how the witch hunts of the seventeenth century used non-conforming women as scapegoats in a time of social unrest. Since the mid-1970s, Caryl Churchill has ranked among Britain's leading playwrights. Her work deals with a variety of social and political issues, many of them controversial, yet she manages to reach a broad spectrum of audiences. Socialists and feminists find much to admire in her work, and the general public finds a good night of theater. Read more about her! Caryl Churchill : a casebook [PR6053.H786 Z64]; The plays of Caryl Churchill: theatre of empowerment [PR6053.H786 Z75]; Contemporary Dramatists [PR106 .V5 REF], pp. 100+; British Dramatists Since World War II [PR106 .B74 REF], vol. 2, pp. 118+; Feminist Writers [PN 451 .A8 F46 REF], pp. 103-104.

`FeMINiSm iN tHe 70s`
In the seventies, the feminist movement continued to move forward, albeit slowly. Although pay differentials remained glaringly disparate, the number of women entering business, law, medicine and engineering rapidly increased during the decade. But the movement was decentralized and often internally divided, ranging from traditional, to moderate, to extreme. Spokeswomen--such as Marabel Morgan, Gloria Steinem, Shulamith Firestone and Phyllis Schlafly--demonstrated the wide range of views. Women's groups continued to press for equal employment opportunities, child care centers and abortion reform. The capstone of these efforts was the 1972 passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, but the required approval by the state legislature was lacking by decade's end. Source: Day by Day: The Seventies, xvi. Read more about it: Search Feminism Great Britain History 20th Century or Feminism United States History 20th Century in SIMON, the library's online catalog.