When Arthur Miller wrote his play The Crucible (the title conjuring up images of a melting pot of intensity) post-war paranoia in the U.S. was beginning to rise, peaking in 1956 with the height of McCarthyism (three years after the pay debuted on Broadway).
Miller’s play is based on incidents that took place in Salem, Massachusetts within a relatively closed pilgrim community during 1691 and 1692. Witchcraft allegations began, starting with Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, and their friends, who were caught playing “with a Venus glase & an Egg” to learn “what trade their sweet harts should be of”. Rather than face being accused of unholy acts, the children blamed their actions on other townsfolk who were engaged in witchcraft.
These incidences centred on witchcraft, accusations and executions, building up to a period of near mass hysteria where neighbour accused neighbour of consorting with Satan to stand a chance of being spared the hangman’s noose. At least nineteen innocent people were hanged as a result of the trials.
Miller took many real-life events and people to convey the build-up of accusations and fear, mistrust and pseudo-beliefs. Some characters were adapted, and others were portmanteaus of several figures (notably the judge).
These events mirrored McCarthyism; they also represented what was occurring under Stalin in the USSR and Mao in China. Much like Orwell’s warnings over a totalitarian turn for society in 1984, Miller sent a chilling warning that applies as much today as 1953 about mistruths cascading through a community or more widely on the world stage.
Senator Joseph McCarthy produced a series of investigations and hearings during the 1950s in an effort to expose supposed communist infiltration of various areas of the U.S. government and the media. Subsequently, the term represents a byname for defamation of character or reputation by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations, especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges.
This includes parallels with today. Millers play is relevant wherever individuals are demonised and the voices of reason are drowned out.
A revival of The Crucible is currently playing in London at The Globe Theatre, directed by Ola Ince, and it packs a powerful punch. As well as paranoia and ‘blame of the other’ there are issues of mortality and the suppression of female sexuality, religious hypocrisy, and authoritarianism.
Shakespeare’s Globe is a reconstruction of The Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Opened in 1997, the theatre is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, London.
The play features Gavin Drea as John Proctor, Hannah Saxby as Abigail Williams, Phoebe Pryce as Elizabeth Proctor, and Jo Stone-Fewings as Reverend Hale, among the other protagonists in this naturalistic drama centring upon the eccentric, bickering inhabitants of Salem, Massachusetts.
It’s a fine cast who slowly draw you in as the drama unfolds. The acting is especially convincing with the commencement of the third Acy when the fragility of justice and the ease with which fear can be manipulated for personal gain come to the fore.
Unlike other revivals there is relatively little sense of the tone of the village changing as the deaths start to stack up. This is perhaps my only criticism. This is counter-balanced by the magnificent character studies as the fates of many of the lead characters are unveiled. This is a production that is potent, immediate and deeply unsettling.
Throughout the performance, music is used sparingly but effectively, especially the low throb of drums as well as some haunting choral singing (which provides a sense of menace).
Sometimes the characters intermingle with the audience (a mix of people standing and seated), resulting in a direction that makes full use of the theatre’s unique surroundings.
For me, the overall message is a cautionary one given how easily a society wrecks itself once gripped by paranoia.
For a play that is over seventy years old, the themes remain relevant, and the impact continues to resonate. For those visiting London, catching The Crucible in the atmospheric setting of The Globe Theatre is an entertaining and edifying experience.
