Honor Shmonor began with swords, shouting and two medieval heroes charging into a witch hunt with absolute confidence that they were doing the right thing. It was a very funny setup, but Atticus Orsborn’s dark comedy soon started poking holes in that confidence, turning a playful fantasy adventure into a smart look at power, prejudice and the excuses people use to justify cruelty.
Presented by Ember Studios as part of DarkFest 2026 at The Tank, the one-night-only production followed a celebrated knight and his nervous squire as they arrived at the home of a woman they believed to be a witch. Their mission was supposedly to investigate her before carrying out her execution, although it quickly became clear that her fate had already been decided. Every answer she gave was twisted into further proof of her guilt, creating an increasingly ridiculous argument that felt much more familiar than its medieval setting might have suggested.
Evan Klein and Jacob Elijah Anderson threw themselves into the heightened world with huge energy, booming voices and exaggerated physical comedy. In the intimate space at The Tank, we felt extremely close to everything happening onstage. There was sword fighting, frantic movement, screaming, dancing and plenty of running around, but the performers handled all that action impressively within the small playing area. Before long, we were completely caught up in their game.
Lila K. Smith provided a strong contrast as the accused witch. While the knight and squire tried to dominate the room through noise, confidence and physical strength, Smith kept her performance calmer, more controlled and quietly sarcastic. It soon became clear that she understood the situation far better than either of them, and watching her work around their increasingly ridiculous logic was one of our favourite parts of the show.
The script also had fun with our expectations. At first, we felt sorry for the woman and assumed she had simply been accused without any real evidence. The story then revealed that she actually was a witch, but that did not make the system being used against her any fairer. Whether she was guilty or innocent hardly mattered because the punishment had already been chosen.
One of the funniest and darkest examples was the test designed to prove whether she was a witch. If she died, she was innocent. If she survived, she was guilty. Either way, she had to be killed first. It was a ridiculous piece of circular logic, but it also got directly to the heart of the play’s ideas about authority and predetermined punishment.
What we enjoyed most was the way the play balanced its comedy with its bigger ideas. It was consistently funny, but there was always something more sitting just beneath the surface, encouraging us to question who really held the power. Beneath the jokes was a sharp look at blind obedience, institutional violence and the stories people tell themselves when they wanted to believe they were the good ones.
Lauren Bradley’s design kept things simple and let the actors remain at the centre of the production. The costumes and props were straightforward but effective, with swords, torches and a few carefully chosen objects creating the medieval world. We especially enjoyed the playful visual moments, including the characters attempting to hide behind a box that was clearly much too small and the performers quickly rescuing fallen props without breaking the fantasy.
Honor Shmonor was a fun and engaging way to finish a Sunday night at The Tank. It gave us plenty to laugh at while also leaving us thinking about the ideas underneath all the sword fights and screaming. Although it was only presented for one night as part of DarkFest, we hope this isn't the last time audiences get the chance to see it.
We are giving this 4/5 D's (D D D D)
Cast & Creative
Evan Klein
Lila K. Smith
Jacob Elijah Anderson
Writer and Director: Atticus Orsborn
Assistant Director: Asa Nestlehutt
Design Director: Lauren Bradley
Producer: Alyson Sheehan
Associate Producer: Payton Howard-Ninkovitch
Produced by Ember Studios