Witchy Women: An Interview with Cast Members from 'Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale'
In Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale, the small and affluent UK town of Sanctuary is rocked by the death of the most popular teen boy. The series explores grief, trauma, power, and fear against a backdrop where magic and witchcraft exist but are not entirely accepted. Magic is often used as a shorthand for otherness, with the sole witch in town becoming the target of unfounded suspicion and, eventually, violence. The show takes its magical subject matter seriously, seamlessly integrating it into the story and drawing on vivid real-life history and symbolism. At the same time it does its own worldbuilding, adding a distinct flavor to a familiar genre.
Sanctuary has some interesting things to say about maternal love and the lengths a mother will go to for her child – good and bad. The effects of different parenting styles play out in the teen characters’ behavior; draw your own conclusions about the show’s opinions on detached versus overinvolved parents. The teens, for their part, range from emotionally withdrawn to angry to, in some cases, sociopathic. Like their adult counterparts, the teenagers are just as interesting and frustrating.
The charged and dangerous aura of the series is built from the cadre of complex women at the story’s core. We sat down with three of the leading ladies – Amy De Bhrún, who plays grieving mother Abigail Whithall; Hazel Doupe, who plays the witch’s accused daughter Harper Fenn; and Stephanie Levi-John, who plays lead investigator DCI Maggie Knight – to discuss their characters and inspirations.
