A reflection on the Manningtree Witches
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Martin Niemöller
I watched the Manningtree Witches at Mercury |Theatre on Saturday. It was outstanding. Really good and really awful at the same time. Really good because it was a powerful performance, with an important message, and really awful because it was dark, depressing, and deeply disturbing. The worst thing is it’s a true story.
It’s the true story of how the Witch Finder General, Matthew Hopkins, decided that certain women were witches and had them put to death. He accused them of being devil worshippers, whereas in fact they were widows and their only crime was being a bit outspoken.
A few things struck me. First of all, it’s easy to think that things like that don’t happen these days. And yet, on the one hand we see the demonisation of immigrants and Muslims and on the other we see the demonisation of the far right.
I saw a post on X a few weeks ago calling for an end to division. The irony of it was that it was a repost about march against the far right by a group calling themselves Together Unity. How can a march AGAINST anything stop division and create harmony. I posted as such and suggested to Together Unity that they do a march for unity instead, but they didn’t respond.
The late President Ikeda, former president of the SGI, suggests that world peace will come through dialogue. This means talking to each other with a goal of really understanding each other’s point of view, instead of trying to prove the other person wrong.
I have been told I’m an idealist. Yes, I am an idealist. And if everyone was an idealist, wouldn’t the world be a better place?
Another thing that struck me about the play was the parallels with my own life.
A couple of years ago, I shared with a friend how difficult I find it to speak my truth. My friend told me it was the witch wound. She explained that in a past life I was probably tortured or put to death for being a wise woman and speaking my truth. Therefore, now I am literally scared to death of speaking my truth. It really resonated with me.
In this life I was brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that are the only true religion, and all other religions come from the devil. Especially the type of spirituality I practice these days. I feel this, along with past life issues, has blocked my power and my intuition.
I was also brought up to believe that sex outside of marriage was a sin. Now as a teenager, I was really f*cking horny all the time. Can you relate? Let me know in the comments.
There was a teenager in the Manningtree Witches play who was experiencing these strong sexual feelings and trying to suppress them because they were sinful. She was one of the women who was arrested for being a witch.
When I was 18, I was disfellowshipped from the Jehovah’s Witness religion because me and my boyfriend engaged in what they called “heavy petting”. It all came to a head when we tried to have sex. I say tried because it was very unsuccessful. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing.
We were brought in front of what they called a “judicial committee”. I had to sit in a room with three elders and go into explicit detail about what happened between my boyfriend and me.
After that I became estranged from my family and have been more or less for over 30 years. My Dad is 85 this year and it breaks my heart to know that I might not see him again before he dies.
I hope this post resonated with you and that it touched your heart. Speaking our truth is never easy, but it’s usually the right thing to do. It’s still a work in progress for me. What about you? Let me know in the comments.
This post was originally published on HappinessClub.co.uk and is also available as a vlog and blog post on the Happiness Club Substack.
