A witch hunt is beginning in Salem…
Raised to be seen but not heard, a group of young women suddenly find their words have a terrible power. As a climate of fear spreads through the community, private vendettas fuel public accusations and soon the truth itself is on trial.
The Crucible is a theatrical classic, known by scores of British people as the text they studied for their GCSEs, yet it’s been a while since there has been a professional production of this calibre hit a UK stage. Following a sold-out run at The National, this impressive production now opens on The West End. Unusually the show starts with the cast setting up the stage while giving a brief introduction to the text and words from the author Author Miller, perhaps a little nod to the students in the audience.
It’s a story about power; men’s power over women and young girls grabbing at power the only time they will ever be allowed to have it with disastrous consequences. The theme of vengeance is strong as well as the pride of people who won’t back down even when it is made clear they are wrong. A lot of the themes in this show; gossip, exaggerations, false confessions and lies getting wildly out of hand, feel very relevant to modern times, as they have echoed in a lot of media in recent years.
The lighting in this show is award-worthy. It is used lighting not only for the scenes but also to create a wall of darkness into which characters appear and reappear. It establishes an overall feeling of the ethereal and along with the use of smoke throughout which fits perfectly with the ‘other worldly’ parts of the narrative. The way it lights the impressive water curtain at the front of the stage is also to stunning effect, allowing the audience to feel like they are peering into a private world Similarly, the use of the white screen over the stage makes the proceedings feel enclosed and small, echoing the feeling of this all happening in the small village and the words of the young women getting quickly out of hand in that environment.
The themes of crowd mentality really shine through in this production and while some scenes lose the energy and pacing, on the whole, this is a well-rounded and well-performed production of this American classic.
The Crucible is on at The Guilgud Theatre until the 2nd of September.
