Night Witches

This is a story that deserves to be retold to all through a filmed version with special effects and tension not available on a small stage - Great job give the existing setting though.... full review

"Night Witches" energetically weaves together seemingly disparate threads - feminism, combat, heavy metal, puppetry - to spotlight people and deeds that might but shouldn't be forgotten, and truths about bravery and action that ought to be obvious if we would only see and face them. This story will become only more rich and successful as it grows beyond its Fringe debut.... full review

Loved it. I do want to learn more about these heroic women.... full review

A must see of HFF16. Night Witches hits on all levels. Easy to watch, because the practiced professionals are clear, crisp, and confident. An enveloping world with a compelling story, and plenty of humor to drive the poignancy home.... full review

Go see it!... full review

Terrific, fun piece of theatre. I laughed a lot, and shed a tear or two near the end. Well done. ... full review

Entertaining and delightful history lesson. Everyone shines. Thank you, Team Night Witches, for bringing this incredible story to life.... full review

fringereview.com In World War two, Russia had a secret weapon helping to stop the Nazi advance on the Eastern Front, an elite regiment of female pilots, Night Bomber Regiment 588. If the Cold War hadn’t happened, this story would surely have been a Hollywood movie. Will McMichael’s play has a cinematic feel, the scenes are all pretty short, some without any dialogue, and there are action sequences with planes, underscored with rock music. Devin Sidell plays the charismatic Marina, a decorated pilot tasked by Stalin to command a new all-female regiment. The girls under her command are young and rural, and unprepared for the realities of war. Heather Schmidt is Nina, a farm girl and amateur pilot who is the innocent through whom we meet the... full review

Super cool!... full review

This play provides an excellent example of using comedy to make a dire and very easily depressing story, fully accessible. Based on actual events, the Night Witches were a unit of female Russian bombers who terrorized the Germans. These women were often ridiculed by their male counterparts, and they were given barely adequate gear and machinery. Despite this, they courageously returned to the air again and again even as they watched their sister’s fall from the skies as the German’s unleashed everything they had in order to stop them. The production pays appropriate homage to these women. They set the mood with punk/metal music (I think that’s what it would be called?) and their staging of the witches’ flights is highly creative and effec... full review