By Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Anne Kauffman
Peet's Theatre · Dec 12, 2019-Jan 26, 2020
World premiere

Running time: 2 hours and 15 minutes, plus one 15-minute intermission

A dark comedy about the legacy of the Salem witch trials

“Once upon a time people thought the devil explained everything. Then a hundred years later they thought sex explained everything. And now? They think statistics explain everything. But numbers don’t explain anything. Numbers didn’t explain the election, did they? Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

A world premiere by MacArthur “Genius” Grant winner Sarah Ruhl (In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play); Eurydice), Becky Nurse of Salem is an offbeat dark comedy that follows a woman coming to terms with her family’s legacy and finding her voice in our “lock her up” era.

Becky Nurse is an outspoken, sharp-witted tour guide at the Salem Museum of Witchcraft who’s just trying to get by in post-Obama America. She’s also the descendant of Rebecca Nurse, who was infamously executed for witchcraft in 1692—but things have changed for women since then…haven’t they? After losing her job for calling out The Crucible in front of schoolkids, Becky visits a local witch for help. One spell leads to another, and then everything really goes off the rails.

An important note regarding health and content advisories:
Becky Nurse of Salem includes use of a strobe effect, an herbal cigarette, and haze effects. Berkeley Rep offers an advisory about any stage effect of potential concern to patrons’ health. We don’t offer unsolicited content advisories as sensitivities vary from person to person. If you have concerns about content or themes, we are happy to provide details. Please call our box office at 510 647–2949 or email info@berkeleyrep.org.