Enter ambitious, quick-witted local farm girl Agnes (Alison Oliver, whose journey from naïve innocent to competent trickster is the highlight of the evening). Elizabeth has a proposal for the farm girl – use your magic to convince a reluctant Edward to marry, or I will see that you hang. It is not altogether clear what writer Lula Raczka and director Rupert Goold are aiming at in Women, Beware the Devil, or indeed what we are meant to make of Agnes. Equally ambiguous is the presence of the devil, who reappears variously as a physician, fey artist, aggressive witchfinder, Cavalier general and Roundhead foot-soldier. Women, Beware the Devil has sparky moments.
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