SAG-AFTRA ✦ AEA
Dec 18, 2022
Ashley spoke with internationally acclaimed musician, artist and writer Mark Fernyhough for Fortean Times’ November 2022 special issue covering the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The article, part of Fernyhough’s feature “Fortean Fringe,” explored the intersection of performance, history, and atmosphere during the Fringe’s 75th anniversary in Edinburgh, "Victoria's ideas were progressive, even by some of today's standards," Ashley told Mark.
The Ecstasy of Victoria Woodhull was highlighted as a production that drew inspiration from history rather than spectacle, reintroducing audiences to the 19th-century feminist pioneer who ran for President of the United States in 1872—48 years before women were granted the right to vote.
“Victoria’s ideas were progressive, even by some of today’s standards,” Ashley Ford told Fortean Times. “She was also a clairvoyant who rose out of the 19th-century Spiritualist movement.”
In the interview, Ashley discussed how the play draws directly from Woodhull’s real life, including her connection to spiritualism – a movement that, at the time, attracted abolitionists, suffragists, and social reformers. Rather than treating this history as novelty, the production uses it as a framework for examining how radical ideas are often dismissed or misunderstood in their own era.
Fernyhough situates the work within Edinburgh itself, opening the article by observing how the world’s largest theatre festival unfolds in what is often described as the world’s most haunted city. Against that backdrop, Ashley reflected on how performing the show in Edinburgh deepened her connection to the material.
“There is a magical undercurrent to Edinburgh,” she said. “Its rich history is palpable as you walk down the street. Wearing my Victorian costume throughout the city, I both stand out and completely fit in.”
For Ashley, the city’s atmosphere didn’t overshadow the story—it amplified it. The setting allowed Woodhull’s ideas, once considered outrageous, to resonate in a place where history and contemporary life visibly coexist.
The Fortean Times feature positioned The Ecstasy of Victoria Woodhull not as a supernatural work, but as a historically grounded piece of theatre that engages with curiosity, legacy, and the enduring power of ideas.
The full article is not available online, but to read the full feature audiences can buy a copy or subscription directly from the Fortean Times.