Offering a new spin on the witch in history, Elbow Room Theatre presents their latest show, SAINTS, at the La Mama Courthouse this February.
One moment you’re on the right side of history, beyond all earthly criticism. The next, you’re not, and you never were. It’s a dangerous game, judging good and evil, and it’s only getting tougher to discern which is – witch.
SAINTS imagines an England of 1654, where the monarchy has been overthrown, the Parliament of Saints has been declared, and Ireland has been… occupied. All of Anna’s prophecies have come true. To her friends, this makes her a saint; to her enemies, a witch. But who’s lighting the fire this time?
Elbow Room has a long and celebrated history of holding up mirrors to their audiences, creating hilarity and discomfort simultaneously during their incisive productions.
“Inspired in equal measure by true events and by nineties witchcraft movies, SAINTS is an imaginative satire of a world on the edge of changing forever. It will take audiences on a journey through the seeds of British colonialism, and of resistance to it,” said Emily Tomlins, Co-Director & Elbow Room Co-Artistic Director.
“We want to bring to the stage people living in what was, to them, a new world of communication, transformed by technology, illuminated by radical thought and spiritual urgency, saturated with apocalyptic danger and transformative possibility. They knew their world was about to change utterly, and ordinary people felt closer to it than they’d ever dreamed,” said Marcel Dorney, Writer & Elbow Room Co-Artistic Director.
In SAINTS, people desperately want to be on the right side of history. If only we could know what that was.
Co-Directors: Emily Tomlins and Marcel Dorney | Featuring: Niamh Corcoran, Briony Farrell, Zak Giles Pidd, Molly Holohan, Carissa Lee, Cait Spiker, Emily Tomlins | Dramaturg: Brigid Gallacher | Lighting Designer: Kris Chainey | Sound Designer: Chris Wenn | Composers: Zak Giles Pidd & Marcel Dorney | Production Designer: Rachel Nankin | Costume Designer: Miki Looker | Stage Manager: Maisy Butchart | Producer: Greta Doell | Project Associate: Kayla King | Writer: Marcel Dorney
SAINTS
La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond Street, Carlton
Season: 7 – 27 February 2026 (preview: 6 February)
Information and Bookings: www.lamama.com.au
Image: SAINTS – photo by Darren Gill