Into The Woods

Into the Woods is a powerful duet that treads between fact and fiction, tragedy and horror. In this piece, choreographer Melanie Lane explores the historical records of women accused of supernatural sorcery and witchcraft in Europe, Indonesia and Australia. It was inspired by a story from the Middle Ages of an elderly widow, who, after being tortured, made a long series of shocking confessions including that she had sworn herself to Satan. In collaboration with video artist Tianyi Liao, fragments of this story and other, more recent historical records are extrapolated and re-configured into a terrifying, visceral imagined future. In popular culture, the 'witch' remains remains iconic and controversial. This work connects women who have been accused of witchcraft, and their diverse and complex experiences of this ‘outing’ – from accusation, punishment, resistance toward empowerment.