In Modern Witches, a woman in the midst of a sapphic relationship crisis finds her ground thanks to the spirits and witches in her life, resulting in a surprise visit from Virginia Woolf’s ghost.
Lesbian actor Kate struggles to create a self-tape audition as Virginia Woolf, revealing that she is frozen in the midst of running away from her healthy relationship. The self-tape shifts from an actor’s grind to an incantation as Kate accidentally summons the ghost of Virginia Woolf, whose bold approach to life helps her to uncover the root of her fear. From the storefront of a mystic shop to the rabbit hole of #WitchTok, this comedic romp explores Woolf’s biography, queer relationship anxiety, and archetypes of the modern witch.
Modern Witches is a mixed media show, making use of TikTok , Siri and YouTube to evoke multiple characters in this one-woman show. Called “wildly imaginative” by raving audiences, Modern Witches is 50 minutes of Woolf and western witchcraft lore, channeled through a spiraling lesbian actor caught in the decision to settle down or live a life of her own.
Playing at Greenside Infirmary Street August 14-19 and 21-26, 7:35PM-8:25PM. £15 full, £12 concession, with daily half price tickets available at the Half Price Hut.
Katie Kopajtic said: “When people ask me what my play Modern Witches is about, I explain it like I explain my life when an unwitting person asks, “What do you do?” So I write, and act sometimes, I’m also a swim coach and improv teacher, video editor…So there’s this actor, and she’s a mess, so she’s practicing witchcraft, and it’s about Virginia Woolf…I choke on the elevator pitch, I cannot bottle it up.
“Marketing wisdom would tell me that this is due to a lack of confidence, which may have been true at the start.
“Six years ago at our cousin’s Christmas party, my older sister gave me the seed that would become the show, prompted by a complaint I made against my face. Looking down at a freshly taken polaroid, I complained about how the light caught my nose on its big side. I was wading in a bog of low self-esteem since getting back from the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe, where my one woman show did pretty good but was not career-changing, where the come-down never really stopped plunging.
“You have a Virginia Woolf profile,” my sister said. “You should be her for your next show.
“I still struggle to give an elevator pitch of Modern Witches, not because I do not believe in the work, but because the show is as amorphous as Virginia Woolf’s selves.
“Honestly? It’s a vibe.
“You just have to be there.“
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/modern-witches
