Theatre review: Sting

Sophie Swithinbank's Sting draws parallels between the modern-day collusion of men and institutions against women experiencing abuse, and the historical persecution of women accused of witchcraft, through a pair of women conducting an academic study on just that subject: Lily (Phoebe Ladenburg) is a university lecturer specialising in the history of witch hunts, attempting to digitise a unique archive of cases and evidence. She hires a part-time assistant to help speed up the process, but doesn't get quite what she bargained for. Ash (Adelle Leonce) is qualified, educated and well-versed in the subject, but she hides it all a bit too well under hectic first impressions: She arrives for her first shift still drunk and exhausted from the night before's clubbing session, and just as she starts to settle in has a miscarriage.After a shaky start her new boss quickly warms to her though, and starts to worry about the young woman. Her behaviour's erratic and she frequently comes in with…