The Mercury Theatre in Colchester has today announced two new Mercury Original productions as part of their 2025 / 2026 season, Ava Pickett’s The Manningtree Witches and Tassa Deparis’ Swallow The Lake.
Natasha Rickman, Artistic Director of the Mercury Theatre, said of today’s announcement, “I am delighted to be announcing two world premieres, both written by alumni of our Mercury Playwrights programme, and both telling stories about Essex – past and present. We are incredibly proud to be presenting these vibrant and beautiful plays, and presenting homegrown, world-class, new writing across both of our stages. We cannot wait to work with Ava and A.K. Blakemore on the extraordinary Manningtree Witches, and to welcome back Tassa as we collaborate with our friends at HighTide.”
The Manningtree Witches
Adapted by award-winning Mercury Playwright and screenwriter Ava Pickett (1536 at Almeida Theatre), The Manningtree Witches will mark the first Mercury Original to have its world premiere on the Colchester theatre’s main stage.
Based on the novel by A. K. Blakemore, the gripping historical drama is a fiercely modern exploration of fear, control, and what happens when women’s voices are silenced. Following 17-year-old Rebecca West in 1643 Essex, The Manningtree Witches tells the true story of England’s first Witchfinder General and wrenches the women he killed out from the shadows of history and into the spotlight.
“It does not matter what is true, or not true. All that matters is what is written down.”
Essex, 1643. A country divided. A town on its knees. A teenage girl with a dangerous secret.
As the Civil War rages on, in the quiet town of Manningtree, most of the men have gone off to fight. 17-year-old Rebecca West is like any teenager, brimming with self-doubt, consumed with unrequited love, and in a never-ending cycle of arguments with her mother. As food runs out, and more men leave, Rebecca and her best friend Judith wait for something, anything to happen in Manningtree.
But change is coming. When the mysterious Matthew Hopkins buys a pub, he brings questions. What does a young man like Matthew want with a town like Manningtree? Why has he come? And why is he so interested in Rebecca? But when an incident between Rebecca’s mother and a local boy plunges the town into discord, those questions are answered with horrifying frenzy.
The production, which will run from 28 February 2026 – 14 March 2026, will be directed by the Mercury Theatre’s Artistic Director Natasha Rickman. The Manningtree Witches was developed with the support of the National Theatre’s Generate programme.
Ava Pickett said of today’s announcement, “The Manningtree Witches is a blisteringly beautiful gut punch of a novel and it’s my privilege to bring the voices of Rebecca and these women, so vivid in A.K Blakemore’s book and too often pushed in to the shadows of history, on to the Mercury stage; and to do it in Colchester, where these women were held and where I spent a huge portion of my own life growing up is even more meaningful. It’s a local story but it is also a timeless one and I can’t wait for it to be a part of Natasha Rickman’s first season.”
Swallow The Lake
Written by Tassa Deparis (The Daughter Abroad – Theatre503, This Wall – The English Theatre, Berlin) in response to the Summer 2024 riots and protests, Swallow The Lake follows Joanna and Joseph as their relocation to a quiet town in Essex resurfaces an old story and shakes the very foundation of their relationship.
The world premiere production, in association with HighTide, will by directed by Yasmin Hafesji (A Sudden Violent Burst of Rain – Paines Plough Roundabout and Gate Theatre Camden, Kick – Lyric Hammersmith, Bill Cashmore Award Winner) and will run in the theatre’s Mercury Studio from 2-11 October 2025.
“There are things that make me look at you anew.”
Joanna and Joseph have just relocated to a quiet town in Essex with their young children. When they host their first dinner party in their new home, an old story resurfaces – along with a word that never should have been said. What follows is a rupture. A single moment reverberates through years of trust, affection, and silence, shaking the very foundation of their relationship.
In the wreckage, we are pulled back – back to their first meeting, to a shared childhood shaped by army barracks and English hillsides. Together, we march through memory and time, tracing the thread of their connection from innocence through complexity, loyalty, love and all that lies between.
Can a lifelong friendship survive the cracks in the country that raised it?
The play was developed on the Mercury Playwrights programme in association with Paines Plough’s Tour the Writer programme.
Tassa Deparis said of today’s announcement, “This story means a lot to me and I’m lucky to be surrounded by such a caring team. I’m enormously grateful to the Mercury Theatre, Paines Plough and HighTide who are not just supporting this play, but me. They have not only given me a chance to grow as a writer, but to be one at all. I am so looking forward to seeing what is uncovered during the process and learning more about the play and myself.”
Cast and further creative announcements will be announced at a later date. Tickets for both productions go on priority sale on Tuesday 24 June 2025 at 10am, with general sale from 10am on Friday 27 June 2025.
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