Rebecca Lenkiewicz is happy to take on a large well-thumbed subject and find it new and fresh. She can write a good character and place it comfortably in a historical context. The play is full of them, each one demanding attention, from a strong cast happily devoid of weak links. It is a well-made play in the best sense, having its own internal rhythm and emotional sweep, which leads to its disturbing climax. (Surely no middle-aged actress has been so nakedly abused?) She bravely uses the ‘n’ word in context and so without offence, thus avoiding the petty pitfalls of anachronistic dialogue.

Crane (Tim Delap), god’s soldier, a bigot by the book whose features are taut with zeal and sexual repression and with the Jesuit’s well honed skill for parrying all objections and glossing any enormity committed in the name of religion with the sheen of piety. (How the audience laughed at his hypocrisy and mangled logic) He embodies that paradox in religious zeal that the more fundamental the devotee the less spiritual they become. We must conclude from this play that if there were a devil he, she or it would operate through people who seek it out as their enemy.

The play is based on actual events in the Hertfordshire of 1712, at a time when signs and wonders still had the power to grip the popular imagination; a time when humanism battled against credulity and superstition. Bishop Hutchinson (David Acton), a man of the Enlightenment, god fearing yet with a willingness to accept a natural explanation for events previously attributed to the supernatural is clearly the good guy. Mr Acton breathes good nature and a rounded fallibility into his creation, which is the worthy foil to the turbid morality of Crane. There is a warmth in his dealings with his servant, Kemi Martha, sensitively played by Cat Simmons, which contrasts with the fumbling, confused appetite of Crane.

The eponymous Jane (Amanda Bellamy) is a spirited practitioner of traditional remedies, falsely accused of witchcraft and communion with the devil by the over-sensitive and disturbed Ann Thorn (Hannah Hutch) – whose mother had previously been executed for being a witch. Miss Bellamy’s Jane is an earthy, good-natured widow, defiant against the mephitic atmosphere that clouded the last outbreak of ‘witchcraze’ in England. She also stands as a contemporary icon who resolutely refuses to be anything other than herself and beholden to no other.

Director, Ria Parry has carefully plotted the changes of mood which move the play along, each scene played for its own merit whilst fitting in to the overall structure. The relationships are firmly established and the plot allowed to make its way with clarity.

The theme of the play, for all its familiarity, is a compelling one and whilst the targets are easy they still have the power to make us angry. It reminds us, if we needed reminding, that the forces of unreason, even today so naked in their display are best countered with equanimity, good sense and humanity.

This is a play that holds its own against The Crucible and like its illustrious forbear, carries a theme which will resonate with a new audience on each showing.   ★★★★☆   Graham Wyles     4^th November 2015