Vinegar Tom

By Caryl Churchill, Produced by Whistler in the Dark,
at the Boston Centre for the Arts, Jan-Feb 2013

Directed by Mac Young
Lighting Design by PJ Strachman
Costume Design by Emily Woods
Hogue Scenic Design and Construction by Mac Young
Musical Arrangements by Veronica Barron and Tony Leva Violence
Choreography by John Robichau and Marcus Watson
Photos: Meg Taintor, PJ Strachman

Something Churchill This Way Comes • The Hub Review

As you may have guessed by now, Vinegar Tom defies classification. But then Churchill was never one to value formal consistency for its own sake, and the Whistler production is so imaginative, forceful and focused that the rough joints and seams in her conception didn’t seem to matter much... The lion’s share of props, however, I feel must go to director and designer Mac Young, a protean talent on the fringe who actually built for this production (in a rehearsal hall of the BCA, no less) a full-sized, completely structural - though utterly off-kilter - house frame, whose raw joists make the perfect setting for the scrapes of Churchill’s script. Director Young and costumer Emily Woods Hogue have even dreamt up a trick by which Churchill’s witches are hanged, quite convincingly, before our horrified eyes (although they soon spring back to life for a disconcerting vaudeville routine).

The image depicts a theatrical performance on a stage with three actors. One woman in a white dress is sitting on a stool, appearing to be in a moment of dialogue or contemplation. A man is kneeling on the wooden floor, facing her, with one arm resti
A man playing a trumpet and a woman standing on a chair on a stage, with a wooden structure and curtains in the background, under stage lighting.
Actors performing in a theatrical play, with a man in the foreground expressing emotion and two actors in the background holding each other.
Five performers on stage, three women singing, one man playing double bass, with warm stage lighting.
A woman in a white dress is sitting on a wooden platform stage with a wooden structure around her in a theater. She has dark hair and appears to be looking down.
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A person in a white costume on a wooden stage set with stairs, talking to a man in a black jacket, with curtains and stage lighting in the background.
Stage scene from a theatrical play, showing a woman in a light yellow dress siting on a chair, with a man and a woman standing below, looking up at her, on a set with wooden scaffolding and stairs.
A theatrical scene with a man holding a woman who is suspended in the air, against a dark background with wooden beams and a stool. The woman is leaning back with her face directed upward, illuminated by dramatic lighting, and the man appears to be s
Three women in period costumes performing on stage with dark background and wooden scaffolding.
Theatrical stage set with a wooden treehouse structure, three actors in period costume, dim lighting with some spotlights, and a dark background.
A wooden stage or set construction inside a room with red curtains, a small stool, a ladder, and a chair on top of the stage. Stage lighting is visible overhead.
A wooden stage with a small chair on top, under construction, in a room with stage lighting and red curtains in the background.
Interior of a room with a wooden loft structure, ladder, stools, and red curtains.