Belladonna
The Coach House Theatre – Ink and Curtain Festival
Belladonna
Written by Sarah Hutton
Shortlisted for the Malvern Theatres’ Three Counties Talent Hub Stage Writing Competition 2026.
When an unknown woman’s body is found inside a wych-elm tree in Hagley Woods during World War Two, a real-life mystery begins which remains unsolved to this day. A romantic assignation gone horribly wrong? A spy caught and executed? A victim of local witchcraft? Or just an ordinary woman in the wrong place at the wrong time? What really happened to ‘Bella’?
A retiring police sergeant hands the case over to a young constable. Together they sift through the evidence and attempt to make sense of the multiple voices which weave through the witness statements, correspondence and police reports, which from the very start, merge fact with fiction.
Drawing from original historical documents, this play gives ‘Bella’ back her own voice. What might life might be like for a woman arriving as an outsider in a close-knit rural community in fearful, paranoid times?
