The Crucible is back, this time it’s in the West End after a two month run at The National Theatre last year. If you didn’t catch it then, catch it now.
Written by Arthur Miller in 1953 at the height of McCarthyism where individuals (some famous) were accused of being communists (it was called a witch hunt). In The Crucible, young women in the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1693 are accused of being witches after they were seen dancing naked in the forest and perhaps engaged in some sort of pagan ritual.
The Revered Samuel Paris’s (Nick Fletcher) daughter was one of them, and she lies motionless in bed. Soon enough the young girls start pointing fingers right and left at others, accusing them of being witches – all hearsay – or fact? Abigail Williams (a fantastic Milly Alcock making her West End debut) seems to be the ringleader, but also carries a secret, one that may or may not involve John Proctor (a brilliant Brian Gleeson). And Reverend Paris has a hand in it all as he is ashamed that witchcraft is being practiced in his own house.
Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor (Caitlin Fitzgerald), has been labelled a witch by Abigail, whom we are soon to find out briefly lived as a maid in the Proctor household until Elizabeth threw her out. But trials and accusations and gossip spread even further throughout the town, ensnaring everyone. Will there be more hangings as promised by the governor?
What is the real truth about the young girls, and can John Proctor (our flawed hero) redeem his wife? And is this all a miscarriage of justice?
The Crucible is now playing at The John Gielgud Theatre, and is mesmerizing. Even with the close to three hour running time, the show is a master class in acting by most of its cast members, a cast that numbers over 20. Gleeson and Alcock surely deserve awards for their work. The Crucible is an epic play, still relevant today when a particular ex-president continues to use the word witch hunt in his short vocabulary. But it was reality in 1692 when 14 women, five men and two dogs were hanged in real life for the crime of witchcraft.
For tickets, please go to: https://www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/whats-on/the-crucible