Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern at Watford Palace Theatre

Walkern, a village in Hertfordshire in 1912. Eleanor Thorn has just been hanged for witchcraft and her daughter Anne is distraught. The new parson is looking to root out more witches, but the Bishop (superbly played by David Acton) believes there is no such thing. Rebecca Lenkiewicz's new play for Out Of Joint is well written and introduces a number of worrying themes that still resonate today.

There may be a a certain lack of plot, but the dialogue of what are mostly two person scenes is crisp and intelligent. The play seems to suffer a little from having no central character, but there are some great performances. Apart from David Acton, Cat Simmons is excellent as his "housekeeper" as is Rachel Sanders as Widow Higgins. And Ria Parry's direction helps to build up the tension. Even before the play starts, the sparse set with only a gallows in the middle of the stage lends a sense of foreboding. That mood never leaves this ambitious production.