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Article: `Witch': Failing the Test of Time
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- October 6, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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For its opening show of the season, the Shakespeare Theatre at
the Folger, which is largely devoted to the plays of a genius, is
doing a piece of hackwork for a change.
It is "The Witch of Edmonton," which the Jacobean playwrights
Thomas Dekker, John Ford and William Rowley churned out in 1621 to
capitalize on a sensational witchcraft trial of the day. Although it
is billed as a tragicomedy, its tragic elements are the stuff of
melodrama and its comedy is decidedly low. A melofarce, perhaps?
Still, lesser plays can serve a purpose. As much as the
masterpieces, they give you a feel for the temper and popular taste
of the past. Here are sentiments that once unleashed copious tears,
shtick ...