The End is Near, A New Play by Melissa Ainsworth

Aim: A powerful new play about how women have been unjustly persecuted over the centuries. Please help us raise funds for this important project.

About the Play:  

"The End is Near" is a new play by Melissa Ainsworth. Three women, from three different centuries, find each other at their worst hour. Janet is accused of witchcraft in 1661 Edinburgh, Caroline is an arrested suffragette in 1911 London, and Lauren is fighting for her reproductive freedom in 2028, in America. The three women explore what has been and what is to come. One thing is certain, the end is near…or is it? This new drama dives into how women have been persecuted throughout history. Women’s rights have come so far and yet have so far to go.

The Companies: "The End is Near" is being produced by the theatre company Persistent Theatre Productions, St. James Church Leith and The Drayton Arms Theatre. Persistent Theatre Production's mission is to lift women through untold stories. Persistent Theatre Productions was formed by Artistic Director Meggie Greivell in 2017 in Minneapolis, MN in the United States. Meggie, a director, now lives in the UK and is thrilled to revive Persistent Theatre Productions, turning it into an international company. Meggie will be directing the production. For the Edinburgh Festival Fringe premiere of the play we are partnering with St. James Church Scottish Episcopal church in Leith. St. James Church's mission is: "to be friendly, inclusive and welcoming; celebrating human diversity in all its richness, create space for people to ask questions and grow spiritually through openness, struggle, prayer, laughter and worship, be a community dedicated to promoting justice, peace, and be in solidarity with those who struggle, cherish our environment by ensuring ecological issues are an important part of our decision making, celebrate the arts as a means of communicating beauty and the sacred." We felt that their mission aligns with not only the play but Persistent Theatre Production's mission as well to lift women through untold stories. Persistent Theatre Productions is women in theatre changing how we all relate in our world, one untold story at a time by creating thought provoking theatre that gives a voice to the underrepresented and unheard by producing long forgotten feminist classics, new works and contemporary plays. The Drayton Arms Theatre, will be co producing this production with us for the London run. The Drayton Arms Theatre is a pub theatre off west end, that prioritises producing new work. 

https://www.persistenttheatreproductions.org/

https://www.stjamesleith.org.uk/

https://www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk/

The Production: The play will premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August with a limited run at St. James Church Leith, August 18-22, 2pm, venue 420, where we are partnering with St. James Church Leith.  We then will take the production to London, at The Drayton Arms Theatre, where it will run September 9-13 at 7:30pm. The Drayton Arms Theatre and Persistent Theatre Productions are co-producing.

The Company: 

"The End is Near” by Melissa Ainsworth

Director and Producer Meggie Greivell

Janet played by Lisa McIntyre 

Caroline played by Melissa Ainsworth

Lauren played by Chloe Johnson 

Costume design by Charlotte Bowe

Actor and Writer Melissa Ainsworth: 

Melissa is an actor and writer with a deep passion for storytelling. Her work spans on-camera performances, theatre productions, and voice acting. Melissa thrives on creating and embodying characters that challenge perspectives and spark conversation. She is excited to both write and perform in The End is Near, an intimate story that explores womanhood and resilience.

Actor Lisa McIntyre: 

Lisa McIntyre is originally from Portree on the Isle of Skye. She discovered a love for performing through local pantomimes and choirs and left to begin studying acting at 17. She recently graduated from Edinburgh Napier after completing her MFA in Stage and Screen.

Some of Lisa's acting credits include: 

Mal [Sofa Bed/2024], Jill [Ginger Snap/2024], Johana Marley [A Christmas Carol/2023], Isobel Gowdie, Janet, Woman 1 [Prick/2023], Billie [Chocolates and Flowers/2022]

Actor Chloe Johnson: 

Chloë is an actor originally from the North East of Scotland. After completing her studies at Queen Margaret University, her acting work across film and theatre has spanned a number of genres, with a focus on telling hard hitting stories and giving a voice to those unheard before. Chloë has found this production to be an exciting and empowering experience, offering a unique opportunity to use her voice and engage with hard-hitting issues through a deeply personal lens. Drawing from her own experiences, she is proud to contribute to a piece that speaks truthfully and boldly to important conversations.

Her credits include: Wish List (Bone Struck Theatre), The Wizard of Oz (Hobgoblin Theatre) and Granite (National Theatre of Scotland)

Director and Producer Meggie Greivell:

Meggie Greivell is an accomplished director, producer, and assistant director with over a decade of experience in the U.S. and UK. She holds an MFA in Directing from Edinburgh Napier University in the UK. Recent highlights include directing Prick by Laurie Flanigan Hegge, an Offie Award-nominated play about the Scottish Witch Trials, at London’s Drayton Arms Theatre (2024) following its premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2023). Meggie has served as an assistant director at Alnwick Playhouse in England and co-founded Persistent Theatre Productions in St. Paul, MN, where she directed works such as When We Were Young and Unafraid and The Basset Table. Her Twin Cities credits include assistant directing for History Theatre and Theatre Pro Rata. She also directed and produced The Bernice Project, which debuted at Phoenix Arts Nest in Minneapolis.

Costume Designer Charlotte Bowe:

Why do we need donations?

Donations help us pay for our venue fees, props and costumes, travel expenses, printing costs for posters, fringe registration fees and most importantly paying oursevles. 

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 1st August 2025 at 1:40pm