The Welkin

The Welkin is a play set in 1759 in rural Suffolk playing at The National Theatre.

The country is waiting for The Welkin, Hailey’s comet, to fly past and Sally Poppy (Ria Zmitrowicz) has been sentenced to hang for killing a child.

She claims to be pregnant, so a jury of 12 matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she is telling the truth.

Lizzy Luke (Maxine Peake), a midwife, is prepared to defend the girl and has to convince the other matrons to save her life.

The verdict

The Welkin starts a little slowly, but when it gets into its swing it is a pure joy to behold.

The tale is told with humour and there is an amazing twist.

There are also some nice feminist moments in this mainly female play, a great play to watch in the run up to International Women’s Day.

Maxine Peake and Ria Zmitrowicz are brilliant in their roles and the whole cast act well.

Go see!