Wharf 2 Theatre, Sydney Theatre Co. | April 23rd-26th, 2025

After a sold-out season at NIDA’s Festival of Emerging Artists in 2023, the hauntingly beautiful Abigail Williams makes its wharf debut as part of the HERStory Art Festival in 2025.

A 17-year-old girl has an affair with a 35-year-old married man. Her master. A father. A leader in his community. And she’s the villain...? Welcome to Salem in 1692, Broadway in 1953 and Sydney in 2025 where we open on a dark stage, a single actor lit by candlelight appears to the audience and doesn’t ask but states; “You know me.” Or at least, they think they do. A gifted storyteller, Abigail leads us on her journey, as she transforms into the characters of her life, all whilst letting us in on her story of love and then perhaps, betrayal. 

Writer/Director Rebecca McNamee’s powerful and textured one-woman response play is a thrilling treasure hunt, digging for little gems smothered by the weight of its famous antagonist’s reputation. We cover Abigail’s journey from childhood to her loss of innocence at the hands of John Proctor, leaving the audience at the final moments before the beginning of The Crucible.

As the present encroaches on the past, we are reminded that Abigail is not the first, nor the last, young woman whose story has been retold, rebuked, reworked and revised. And she certainly is not the first, or last woman, or victim, who will be labelled a villain.

Conceived by some of this country’s most exciting new talent straight from the halls of NIDA, Abigail Williams promises a visceral theatre experience on the journey to the liminal reaches of this infamous teenage girl’s mind.

Marketing image Philip Erbacher