Many plays acquire the by-line “Classic”, but few deserve them as much as the writing of Arthur Miller. The Crucible, written in 1953, is a gripping tale of the Salem Witch trials of 1692 and is based on real characters from those events when hysterical young girls’ wild accusations lead to horrific rigged court trials and the death of the older defendants. The author explained at the time it was an allegory for the US Government’s McCarthyism of the late forties/early fifties when a senator whipped up fear of Soviet espionage and everybody feared a “red under the bed”. Though firmly rooted in its narrative to the seventeenth century the play resonates even more powerfully today when social media amplifies the wildest allegations and beliefs of the outspoken minority, court cases fill the news headlines about claims of media privacy intrusion and parliament is dominated by public inquiries and select committees pouring over claims and counter-claims leading to an appearance sometime of media witch-hunts to undermine authority. With the absence of hard evidence, those in judgement are left to decide based on hearsay and speculation and find it hard to resist their preconceived ideas of the truth.
It is a gripping tale contrasting the passionate and enthusiastic accusations from the young girls led by Abigail Williams, an extraordinary theatrical debut from Milly Alcock who orchestrates the girls’ behaviour and responses, with the good men and women of Salem and the surrounding lands and the earnest but foolish men responsible for investigating and dealing with the accusations. It is a combination of the skill of Miller’s writing and the direction by Lyndsey Turner that though we can see the truth in plain sight, we still can feel the motivation and self-belief of each group and are swept along by the tension and fear that drives the narrative.
