As a group the actresses portraying the Salam children are utterly fantastic. I was particularly impressed by Samantha Colley as the intimidating Abigail, whose terrible lies after being spurned by John Proctor are what lights the fuse and maintains the tragic events through the threat she exerts over the other “possessed” girls. The entire cast are superb, combining to bring to life an incredibly powerful, emotional experience over the course of the play’s lengthly running time. A intensely powerful Richard Armitage as John Proctor
You certainly have a sense of a body of people gathered together to pass judgment on the accused and in the later court scenes the audience add an extra dimension to the production as a whole. Its deeply atmospheric sparse staging by Soutra Gilmour, the effective use of light and shadow by Tim Lutkin, mist-covered entrances and terrifyingly eerie music score by Richard Hammarton, are all enhanced greatly by the almost claustrophobic atmosphere created by having faces gathered all around the stage. Playing such an intense story on a smaller stage, surrounded by the audience was an inspired decision. South African Director Yael Farber’s powerful production particularly benefits from the current configuration of the Old Vic stage. This of course made all the more apt when written at the time of intense suspicion and accusation in America – not of witches, but of the threat of Russian Communist spies.Winning the Tony Award for Best Play in 1953, it has become a classic and this production is certainly of a calibre to carry such a play and left me overwhelmed by its conclusion.
Written in 1953, Miller’s play is a partly fictional, dramatised tale of these terrible historical events, highlighting what can happen when rumour, suspicion and hysteria take hold of a community, turning people against each other with tragic circumstances.
Set in Salem, Massachusetts Bay, The Crucible shines a light on the Salam Witch Trials of 1692-1693. Despite studying Arthur Miller at school, this year has brought my first opportunities to see his work on stage, first at the Young Vic for its stunning A View From A Bridge and now at the Old Vic for this new production of The Crucible. However on hearing the news that it will be released on Digital Theatre and as it will be my last review of a live theatre production for a couple of months (due to breaking my foot), I thought it was time to give my thoughts on this classic play. It’s been a month since I saw The Crucible at the Old Vic and due to its sold out status and the fact the run was soon to end (last Saturday), I almost didn’t review it.
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