Production reflects on lives of two punished Manx women 

Drogh Vranne taking to the stage in Peel

The stories of two long-forgotten Island women are the inspiration behind a production taking to the stage in Peel later this month.

Drogh Vraane, meaning ‘Bad Women’ in Manx, draws on the lives of Ann Thompson and Catherine Kinrade.

Both women met tragic ends after being found guilty of separate misdemeanours and subjected to harsh punishments in the 1800s.

Thompson was sentenced in 1833 to seven years’ penal transportation to Botany Bay after being convicted of stealing 37 yards of lace edging. 

Her story took a further tragic turn when the transport ship Amphitrite ran aground off the coast of France. Thompson and nearly all of the female convicts aboard drowned after the captain refused to allow them to leave the vessel.

Catherine Kinrade was reportedly keel-hauled for what was described at the time as “immoral” behaviour. 

The ways in which her story has subsequently been told, form the starting point for Forgiven, the English-language play that opens the production. 

The play follows two literary friends as they set out to tell the true story of Catherine Kinraide but struggle to find where the truth lives among a tangled web of interpretations.

It's been written by Sollan Director Aalin Clague and she, and one of the performers Nicola Tooms, has been talking to Beth Espey.

Drogh Vraane will be performed on Saturday 14 November, at the Peel Centenary Centre, starting at 7:30pm.

You can find the ticket information here etickets.im/event/1055