Sapphire Butterfly Blue

MTYP’s Summer Studio—MTYP – Mainstage

Sapphire Butterfly Blue is a powerful production which plays at and is produced by Manitoba Theatre for Young People. It is set in 1692 at the onset of the Salem witch trials. With a cast of 16 talented young adults, the audience is taken on a journey of movement, music, chant, monologues, song and dance. The key role of Bridget Bishop, the first young woman being accused of being a witch, is portrayed by 12 women who weave the moments of questioning, angst, sadness and fear as she comes to terms with the accusation and sentence of being considered a witch. Moments where the women reflect on the various emotions she experiences are felt by the theatregoers through both soft spoken words and intense anger and fright. The women reach the heart of the viewer through introspection, dance and the inspiration of the butterfly. The 4 men who embodied the judges express their fervour with intensity in their voice, movement and faces. One moment in particular gives you chills with the combination of ferocity of the judges and the terror felt by Bishop. Sapphire Butterfly Blue is best described as a visual and auditory explosion of moments which represent how witchery may have manifested in this time period and the resulting repercussion of the assertion imposed on the women of this era. It keeps you engaged as you follow the story and perceive the mirage of sensory images performed by this collection of dramatic artists.

Shayla Patterson