"2026 SALEM WITCH TRIAL" 🔥 BEST SOLO SHOW WINNER AT EDINBURGH FRINGE ‘25 CONTINUES ITS EVOLUTION IN LA

2026 Salem Witch Trial

What happens when a tarot-reading lesbian finds herself exiled by Christian neighbors who might just be in a cult? In “2026 Salem Witch Trial,” Telly Award winning writer-performer Gretchen Wylder tells a raw, hilarious, and haunting true story. This solo show with video elements fuses personal memoir, dark comedy, and radical reclamation of spirituality.

Set against the backdrop of Salem’s mysticism and a disturbingly devout cottage town just north of Salem proper, “2026 Salem Witch Trial” is the evolution of “2025 Salem Witch Trial,” based on Wylder’s real-life descent into a modern-day witch hunt. Navigating a double life—reading tarot by day, surviving zealotry by night—Wylder unpacks her personal horror alongside the religious violence still faced by women, queer people, and spiritual nonconformists alike. But in 2026, things get litigious and even more culty. The story is based on her current lived experience.

“Hilarious and harrowing” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – The Nerd Party “Wylder’s show is, in the truest sense, radical” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Student News UK “Incrediby well crafted – nothing short of remarkable” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Binge Fringe “Gretchen Wylder is a nightmare” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Geek Chocolate

“2025 Salem Witch Trial” had its world premiere at Edinburgh Fringe ‘25 & received “Best Solo Show” in the Horror category (“The Spookies” awards). The NYC premiere was sold-out at the New York Comedy Festival. The TV/Film script adaptation placed as a finalist in a recent Writer’s Lab x Get It Made competition.

The show is based on a true story so insane it feels scripted — psychologically invasive in the same way Baby Reindeer’s real-life horror felt, but following a queer witch protagonist and her persecution in modern-day Salem, MA.

🔮 Show Info:
Title: 2026 Salem Witch Trial
Written & Performed by: Gretchen Wylder Directed by: Ryan Cunningham
Dates: June 8 (11pm), 12 (5pm), 14 (7:30pm), 17 (9:30pm), & 18 (5pm)
Location: Broadwater Black Box
Length: 1 hour