A haunting tale is brought to the stage in the Borders
Rehearsals are underway for Rope and Flame, a new community play exploring the true story of the 1629 Peebles Witch Trials, featuring a cast of 35 local people from across the Scottish Borders.
The new play - Rope and Flame - focuses on a difficult year in Peebles’ history (1628-9) when a fear of witchcraft in the town saw 27 local people being accused, convicted and executed by rope (strangulation) and flame (burning in tar barrels). Clare Prenton, director and writer commented: “We’ve been truly overwhelmed by the interest in this project and the enthusiasm by the community to present this little known part of Peebles’ history to life.
“We had to close casting two weeks’ early, in December, and have a larger cast than we could have ever possibly imagined - it’s been humbling how may people want to honour the 27 executed and revisit a dark period in our town’s largely untold history.”
The cast is comprised of 11 men and 24 women from across the region. This 35-strong cast, aged 15-80, are travelling into rehearsals from Dumfries and Galloway, Galashiels, Kelso, Lyne, Peebles, Innerleithen, Stobo and Walkerburn.
Working with a professional creative team comprised of three Scottish Borders based playwrights Anita John, Clare Prenton and Vivien Reid, the production is produced by Dragonfly Productions supported by Duns Play Fest and Eastgate Theatre Peebles and in collaboration with the Peebles wellbeing festival Inspiring Life.
It is directed by Clare Prenton with additional direction by co-writer and director Vivien Reid - the first production with Prenton’s new Peebles based company Dragonfly Productions.
Musical supervisor is local musician Frances Taylor working with local composer, Tish Timmins, who has composed an original fiddle piece - ‘Venlaw’s Lament’ - for the production.
Final year Queen Margaret University student, Basil Somers, is wardrobe supervisor with Natalie Speake as movement director.
Borders based historian Mary W Craig will give talks based on her book Borders Witch Hunt, which was the inspiration for the play. These pre-show talks will take place before performances in both Duns and Peebles. Borders based teachers will write education packs for teachers of P6 and P7 pupils in Primary and High School pupils in S1-3 across the Peeblesshire education cluster, which will be offered to all primary schools and Peebles High School Drama and History staff. Themes will include the dangers of fact-checking, gossip and the socio-political background to the post-reformation Scottish Borders.
The large scale community drama - entitled Rope and Flame has been made possible thanks to funding from Destination Tweed, The Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland and The Strathmartine Trust.
Tickets for the Duns performance on Saturday May 2 are now on sale via their website www.dunsplayfest.org.uk. The two Peebles performances - on Friday May 15 and Saturday, May 16 - will be programmed as part of the Inspiring Life Festival 2026 - the annual mental health and wellbeing festival at Eastgate Theatre, Peebles or www.eastgatearts.com. Tickets will go on sale in the next Eastgate Theatre brochure in March 2026.