​Blyth’s “The Trials of Maggie Pollock” is a true tale of sorcery and courtroom drama

If you like a tale of sorcery, witchcraft and courtroom drama, you’re going to love the Blyth Festival Theatre production of “The Trials of Maggie Pollock.”

The most unbelievable part about this tale, is that it is a true story about Maggie Pollock, the last woman in Canada to be convicted of witchcraft.

Written by Beverley Cooper, the world premiere opened Friday night at Memorial Hall and received a well-deserved standing ovation from the audience.

Caroline Gillis is amazing in the title role, playing a young Maggie who discovers her gift of talking to spirits, through her management of this skill and using it to help others, to her arrest for swindling people simply because she accepted 50 cents for telling a farmer where to find his stolen oats.

Joining her on stage, are four actors who are as talented as they are versatile, playing a variety of roles throughout the play. Amy Keating is the younger woman, Cameron Laurie is the younger man, J.D. Nicholsen is the older man, and Susan Stackhouse is the older woman.

This intense drama takes place in the early 20th Century and begins with Maggie being arrested on her home farm just outside of Blyth, for telling fortunes. She is tried in Goderich court, and her case makes it all the way to the Supreme Court of Ontario in Toronto, before being sent back to Huron County because the judges don’t know what to do with her. After all, it’s the 20th Century, there are no witch hunts. One judge states that Maggie is no more dangerous than an Ouija board.

Through it all, Maggie maintains her innocence. Yes, she speaks to the dead, she interacts with the spirit world, but her only intention is to help people. This doesn’t sit well with the local constabulary or some citizens. The courts state that she is either in league with the devil, or she is pretending to have these powers.

As the Goderich court grapples with the decision to lock Maggie in the Huron County Gaol for two years, it finally agrees to suspend her sentence and allow her to stay with her brother on the farm, but she can no longer talk to spirits or continue with what the judges consider fraudulent behaviour.

Maggie lives a very lonely life for the next two years, when suddenly, the policeman who first charged her with witchcraft, arrives on her doorstep asking for help in finding a murderer who has escaped.

Should she summon the spirits and assist him, or tell him and the entire community to go pound salt?

To find out, you’ll need to buy a ticket to “The Trials of Maggie Pollock.”

The show continues Aug. 7, 8, 17, 24-25, 27-29 at 2 p.m.; and Aug. 10 and 23 at 8 p.m.

For more information and to purchase tickets, call the box office at 1-877-862-5984 or visit blythfestival.com.

The Blyth Festival Theatre is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer. Artist director Gil Garratt told the audience Friday night, that during those five decades, Blyth has staged the world premieres of 150 plays.



Caroline Gillis (in white) as Maggie Pollock talks to the spirits in a scene from "The Trials of Maggie Pollock," on at the Blyth Festival Theatre until Aug. 29; with her, from left, are Susan Stackhouse, J.D. Nicholsen and Amy Keating; photos by Gil Garratt



The judges at the Ontario Supreme Court are unsure about what to do with Maggie Pollock, in a scene from "The Trials of Maggie Pollock;" from left, are Susan Stackhouse, J.D. Nicholsen and Amy Keating