NOMINATED FOR THE UNTAPPED AWARD 2022
Join us for the misadventures of Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. Two real medieval German monks. Who might have been the first incels.
They were real dudes who co-wrote Die Hexenhammer (The Hammer of Witches), a 15th-century guide to witch-hunting outsold only by the Bible; kick starting the European witch craze and likely responsible for the murder of tens of thousands of women over the next few hundred years.
Incorporating real text taken directly from Die Hexenhammer and real verbatim text found on online incel forums, HEXENHAMMER explores how men end up killing women as a way to solve their own problems, why that hasn’t changed in the past 500 years, and the uncomfortable role new technology plays – from the advent of the printing press to reddit chatrooms.
Supported by The Yard Theatre, The Camden Peoples Theatre, The Lion and Unicorn Theatre and Theatre Deli.
Secretariat is a performance duo consisting of Sidsel Rostrup and Suzy Kohane. HEXENHAMMER is our first show and was directed by Complicite Associate, Catherine Alexander.
We are interested in the now; in the liveness of performance, and the wider cultural moment. We work collaboratively. We use comedy to open up political issues and get to the people beneath them. We’re focused on how technology impacts intimate relationships and how outsiders become insiders, using clowning as a way of interrogating interpersonal dynamics.
The Yard First Drafts 2019
Camden People’s Theatre Seed Commission Shortlist 2022
Theatre Deli SHIFT/SPACE 2022
Untapped Award Shortlist 2022
Barbican Open Labs Shortlist 2022
Press & Reviews
From Gabriel Gatehouse, author and host of The Coming Storm podcast (BBC Sounds):
'Sometimes a piece of theatre really nails it. @SecretariatLndn Hexenhammer is a witty wild ride on the misogyny train, from the 15th c monks who sparked the witch hunts to today’s incel culture (via Jordan Peterson’s lobster). Can’t wait to see what’s next.'
Cast & Creative Team Secretariat: Sidsel Rostrup, Suzy Kohane
Director: Catherine Alexander
Dramaturg: David Ralf
Production Management: Misha Mah