The Witch and The Whistleblower – The Glitch

Picture: Simon Lane

The Witch and The Whistleblower continues at The Glitch, London until 20 April 2026.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Musical theatre doesn’t always have to be performed on the biggest of stages. There is a whole world of exciting new work happening in small rooms above pubs and cafe basements that often puts the big-budget spectacles of London’s West End to shame. Sometimes these DIY shows consist of a couple of performers and a piano, but sometimes an even more impressive ambition is on display. This is the case for The Witch and The Whistleblower, now playing at Waterloo’s The Glitch.

The writing team of Arcana Theatre (who also star in the show) and director Evie Kerr clearly have solid theatrical instincts and their choices for this brand new work are impressive. The plot revolves around the recently uncovered story of two late 16th century women who found themselves caught up in the horrific and unjust religious witch trials of the era.

Margaret Aitken (played with a haunting intensity by Megan Farquhar) is found guilty of witchcraft and after unimaginable torture and suffering, claims to be able to identify other witches if she is kept alive. She is then used as justification for the execution of hundreds of other women under the power of the zealously bloodthirsty Minister John Cowper (played with terrifying presence by Dan Davison). However, when they come to Glasgow, a widow and innkeeper called Marion Walker (the room commanding Roo Berry) organises an ingenious clandestine resistance, eventually leading to Aitken and Cowper’s downfall and saving the lives of potentially thousands of innocent women.

Before the show, I was curious about how a story of such great injustice would fare on the small scale of The Glitch’s basement theatre. As it turns out, the Arcana Theatre team saw no impediment to their ambition. What is happening in that Waterloo basement right now is nothing short of a fully blown West End show. What concessions have had to be made because of budget turn out to be minimal.

Sure, the story demands a large cast, but the team have assembled a superb ensemble of ten performers, many of whom multi-role. Yes, there are backing tracks instead of bands, but there are also live instruments courtesy of the brilliantly multi-talented Meg Russon and Polly Maltby. Maybe there isn’t the most elaborate of sets and these witches don’t fly like in some big budget West End shows, but designer Hayley Rae has done a sterling job with props and costumes and the dim basement setting truly does add to the tense atmosphere.

The music is composed by Ell Thompson and Jake Dufton. There are a number of solo moments for Berry and Farquhar that are certainly memorable, but the score’s major achievement is its tone and its writing for the large ensemble. Sonic allusions to a Middle Ages sound abound but the show never gets bogged down in novelty or pastiche. The folksy 12/8 feel of a lot of the score is capitalised upon by movement director Vivi Bayliss, who crafts some delightful moments of traditional dance.

As a work early in its life, some technical aspects are still to be ironed out – the initial onslaught of similarly-dressed actors playing a variety of townspeople is a little disorientating; though all performers are fantastic, there is arguably a tonal mismatch between the energies of some characters; it would be nice to hear a bit more Scottish influence in the score given the setting – but these are minor niggles. Above all else, it is thrilling to see a work with so much potential right at the start of its journey.

I’m a big believer in the power of DIY. When we tell artists they cannot possibly stage a musical without the backing of the West End’s financial gatekeepers, we lose so much exciting new work. Many of us will happily go along to any musical theatre-adjacent effort in a small room with the requisite lowered expectation of the low budget.

However, The Witch and The Whistleblower is no charity case. This show proves that large-scale ambition need not be constrained by budget and shatters any preconceived notions of what goes on in Waterloo basements. I would sooner recommend this exciting new piece than many of the finely tuned spectacles currently playing at the West End’s more prestigious venues. Then use the money you save to go see it again.

Ian Bowkett