Even today when a brutal murder takes place, both the media and popular culture still become fascinated with the details of the crime and the mind of the murderer, whilst the murdered person themselves is largely ignored or forgotten. If the life of a victim is examined, it is often in a manner that seeks to tarnish or dishonour them while they are no longer able to defend their memory.
The infamous 1827 Red Barn Murder in Polstead, Suffolk was just the same. Maria Marten was killed by her lover William Corder and buried under a barn, after which he fled the town. The crime went undetected until a year later, when Maria’s remains were discovered by her stepmother. The trial and execution of Corder was a tremendous source of public interest, while Marten’s own reputation was dragged through the mud; immortalised in popular songs and becoming the stuff of folklore.
This play ‘The Ballad of Maria Marten’ was originally produced in 2018 as ‘Polstead’, re-titled for a 2020 revival production, and is now enjoying a UK tour. Author Beth Flintoff and director Hal Chambers wanted to redress the balance and retell the story from the point of view of Marten and her female friends, a perspective denied her for almost two centuries.
Maria Marten herself, played by Elizabeth Crarer, opens the play by appearing at the end of her story, a corpse awaiting discovery. She describes her injuries with deadpan detachment “He shot me in the neck, strangled me with a handkerchief and finally had a go at me with a spade. He was thorough” she says. A group of women gather round and perform an act which the text describes as ‘Un-murdering’, in which they remove the bloody makeup and clothe her again as a young girl, transporting us back to all their childhoods, where the story begins.
What follows is an exploration not only of Marten’s life, but those of all women of the time. It looks at the mores that made women into a commodity and forbade relationships between the social classes. As Maria becomes pregnant by one man after another she receives support from some of her friends – notably Sarah Stowe, played here by Lydia Bakelmun – but vilification by the wider community, and when William Corder suggested an elopement it seemed to many a perfect alternative to arresting her for bringing too many bastard children into being.
Early in the piece, when describing her murder, she tells us that “In my last moments of clarity I knew I was not mad. I had been tricked and confused, but the fault lay with him”. As an audience we see with equal clarity that she has been a victim of gaslighting. Both Corder and many of the town elders have succeeded in persuading her that she is the author of all her own misfortunes as a result of her perceived immoral behaviour. By the end of the piece, in a final cleansing by fire, we see things very differently indeed.
Despite its seemingly grim subject matter, The Ballad of Maria Marten is a refreshingly uplifting piece of theatre. There are as many shafts of light shining through the text as there are through Verity Quinn’s atmospheric, skeletal set, and the mood is frequently lifted by music and dance. Luke Potter has provided an evocative, folk-driven score and the performers turn out some fine close harmony vocals. The use of a six-strong all female cast doubling numerous roles, including some of the men depicted, and the decision to have William Corder appear only by reference and never in person is a one of the greatest strengths of this production. It ensures that the central message of the work is cleanly delivered, offering a view of the position of women in society at the time and making a powerful statement about how little progress has been made over 200 years.
The Ballad of Maria Marten continues touring into October 2021 in Basingstoke, Cheltenham, Lowestoft and Oundle, and then in Colchester, London, Exeter and Oldham in February 2022. Full tour dates are available here.
Star rating – 4 stars
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| Elizabeth Crarer as Maria Marten - Production Photographs © Tony Bartholemew |
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| Elizabeth Crarer and the cast of The Ballad of Maria Marten |
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| Sarah Goddard as Ann Marten |
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