Not-So-Simple Gifts

The turbulent sex-fuelled origin story of the Shaker aesthetic

For most of us, the word ‘Shaker’ conjures up minimalist hand-made furniture or sweetly melodic hymns. The origins of the sect are much wilder.

The Testament of Ann Lee, a powerful new musical directed by Mona Fastvold, screenwriter for the The Brutalist, captures some of that unhinged energy by focusing on the sect’s founder, known to her followers as ‘Mother Ann’ or ‘Ann the Word’.

Ann Lee wasn’t American but the illiterate daughter of a Manchester blacksmith.

Born in 1736 into a large, poor family, Ann conceived a deep hatred of sex – perhaps because she had grown up in a tiny house where several of her elder siblings were co-habiting with their spouses – and started to have intense visions from her early teens. Most of these focused on the depravity of human nature and the evils of sexual lust.