Vinegar Tom

Vinegar Tom is the title of a 1976 feminist play by British playwright Caryl Churchill. The play examines gender and power relationships through the lens of 17th century witchcraft trials in England.

The play tells the story of Alice, who is in her twenties and living in a small village. Alice and her mother Joan are accused of witchcraft after an altercation with their neighbours, followed by several mishaps upon their neighbours' farm supposedly the result of Joan's witchcraft.

It is later implied that Vinegar Tom, Joan's cat, may have been behind it all. The plot includes witchcraft, some slating of the Christian faith, and the oppression of women. It was written at the height of the second feminist movement in the 20th Century.

Betty, one of the play's characters, is classed as mad or ill simply because she does not want to marry. The play also outlines society's rejection of people who do not conform to the mainstream, or who are different.