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Winchester

History can do strange things to a person’s reputation, and Sarah 'Sallie' Lockwood Winchester (née Pardee,1839-1922) has probably not fared too well in those stakes. GreenHouse Theatre Project’s Winchester by Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri at Paradise in Augustines succinctly delves into her life, times and legacy in a beautifully presented period drama with elegant constumes by Sabrina Garcia Rubio.

The story is fascinating, the production precise and the performances elegant.

She was born into a family that espoused liberal ideas and became well-educated. In 1862, she married her childhood friend William Wirt Winchester, the famous rifle and shotgun manufacturer. In 1881, following his untimely death and that of her mother-in-law, she inherited his fortune.

But the rifle that brought her riches also gave rise to menacing guilt and grief over the lives it took. A psychic told her to build a house in order to appease the dead and save her soul. She immersed herself in the study of architecture and design and the management of real estate as she embarked on constructing the villa, now known as the Winchester Mystery House; a lavishly decorated and quirky building of over 1800 square metres, twenty rooms, marble floors, doors that open onto walls, corridors that are dead ends and staircases that lead nowhere

Palmieri, dressed in funeral black complete with mantilla, plays Sallie Winchester with Anna Sundberg, Ian Sobule and Alex Hoge taking on various other roles. Archive material makes it clear that Sallie was renowned for her intelligence, kindness and keen financial management. She was not thought to be superstitious, but posthumously she has been seen as guilt-ridden, mad with grief, and ultimately delirious and Palmieri combines these facets in her performance along with the eccentricity of a demanding woman who mercilessly dealt with architects and designers. There are moments of humour but we also see a woman who suffered from the deaths of many people close to her.

The story is fascinating, the production precise and the performances elegant, but it remains a drama from which one remains detached, a distant observer of another world.

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The Blurb

Based on the true story of firearm heiress and architect, Sarah Winchester, this original historical thriller tells a strange and unforgettable tale. Sarah became one of the wealthiest women in the world after the untimely death of her husband in 1881. As fate would have it, the rifle that brought Sarah riches also gave rise to menacing guilt and grief over the lives it took. 'Build a house,' a psychic advised her, so she may save her soul and appease the restless dead. And so, Sarah embarked on a 38-year project building the Winchester Mystery House.
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