The Crucible - Review

Gielgud Theatre, London

*****

Written by Arthur Miller

Directed by Lyndsey Turner

Matthew Marsh and the girls of Salem

Transferring across the Thames to the West End, the National Theatre’s production of The Crucible, masterful last year in the Olivier, has only improved with the passage of time with Lyndsey Turner’s interpretation of Arthur Miller’s bitter allegory on McCarthyist America continuing to fuse brilliant writing with a stunning troupe of actors.

The play famously examines the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and considers how easily truth can be upended by widely-spread canards that defy both science and belief if enough people buy into the lie. One does not have to look too far in our modern world to see the chilling parallels between 17th century Massachusetts and the 21st century Western world.

But the strength of Miller’s writing goes so much deeper than a witch-hunt on American’s eastern seaboard. His narrative tests the very fabrics of love, integrity and above all humanity.

There are some cast changes from the South Bank’s 2022 company. Brian Gleeson takes over as John Proctor the story’s fallible everyman, a farmer whose principles humble us all, with Caitlin FitzGerald now playing his wife Elizabeth. Both performances are outstanding with the pair creating a devastatingly credible love that can only end in tragedy. Matthew Marsh reprises his role as Deputy Governor Danforth, the inquisitor of the piece. Marsh is villainous yet imperious and earns our contempt without once descending into melodrama. Equally, in a modest yet critical role for highlighting the murderous madness of the times, Karl Johnson breaks our hearts as the heroic veteran Giles Corey.

And then there are the young girls on whose false testimony innocents were hung and a society devastated. Newcomers again step into these roles, with Milly Alcock's Abigail Williams and Nia Towle as Mary Warren both terrifying as they rise to the challenge of leading the story's "children" in their lies.

Drama does not get better than this. Only on until September, The Crucible is not only unmissable theatre, it is essential theatre. Just go!

Runs until 2nd September

Click here to read my review of the October 2022 production in the Olivier Theatre

Photo credit: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg

The Crucible - Review

National Theatre, London

*****

Written by Arthur Miller

Directed by Lyndsey Turner

Erin Doherty and cast of The Crucible

Arthur Miller's The Crucible was penned in 1953 as an allegory to Senator Joe McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee. Miller’s work is horrifically exquisite as his drama meticulously dissects the history of the Salem witch-hunts of the late seventeenth century. This stain on the history of the pre-United States saw a toxic confluence of church and government in which the word of children, accusing their elders of witchcraft, grew into an almost unstoppable untruth in the communities of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Based on these allegations of sorcery, 19 adults were hanged, countless others imprisoned and it was not until some 20 years later that government compensation was awarded to the families of those executed or convicted. 

Miller proves himself to be not just a historian, but as this website has long recognised, a dramatist whose understanding of the human condition is virtually unmatched. Much like Shakespeare, he can offer an analysis of events that may well be hundreds of years old and give them a context that is not just timeless, but timely and chillingly relevant.

Lyndsey Turner directs a show that presents the subsidised National Theatre at its very best, with lavish production values. This is what Arts Council money should be spent on: brilliant (albeit vintage) writing; imaginative stagecraft and a luxuriously massive cast list.  Entering the auditorium Es Devlin’s stark, striking staging sets the scene with the Olivier’s magnificent thrust boxed in on three sides by a curtain of cascading water and for the thousand or so souls in the audience, there will be at least a thousand different interpretations as to what this deluge of a mise-en-scene suggests. My take on this shower-curtain is to see it as the most transient of barriers between us and history. It appears tangible but is in an instant, permeable – a powerful suggestion that there is in fact no difference between a terrible history and the world of today.

Brendan Cowell leads as John Proctor, a noble yet flawed citizen who resists the accusations of the children, calling it out for what it is. Proctor is a striking character, saintly in his principles and courage yet profoundly and fallibly human too. The detailed, complex crafting of his relationship with wife Elizabeth (Eileen Walsh) defines Miller’s writing genius.

Another gem of characterization is in Karl Johnson’s take on the curmudgeonly, upright, elderly Giles Corey, with Johnson winning our love for the defiance he displays in the face of the madness enveloping his community. Erin Doherty plays the young Abigail Williams, her excellent performance reminding us that evil actually lies not in the Devil, but in mankind. 

There isn’t a weak link in the entire cast. Rachelle Diedericks as Mary Warren has us rooting for her as she strives to swim against the tide of her peers. Nick Fletcher’s Reverend Parris defines the odious hypocrisy so often found in the clergy while Matthew Marsh as Deputy Governor Danforth, effectively the supreme head of the local judiciary is equally, marvellously, malignant in his role. Credit too to the remarkable Nathan Amzi who, in an understudy step-up so last minute that the National Theatre (disgracefully) failed to inform the audience of the cast change, played Reverend Hale so well that it was not until studying the programme later that one realised that there had been a cast change. Hale is a complex character, starting off as a “bad-guy” inquisitor who goes on to find redemption in the second act and Amzi commands our sympathies throughout.

Paul Arditti’s sound design and Tim Lutkin’s ingenious lighting plots combine to make the sensory experience of the evening nothing less than immaculate.

Many of today’s writers would do well to study Miller’s work. There is not a sloppy sentence to be found in the text and amidst much modern mediocrity, it is a breath of cold, sobering air to be presented with such genius. McCarthyism and its accompanying mob-terror may have inspired Miller, but it is a tragedy of our times that his words are so relevant in today's era of polarising culture wars and internet-fuelled cancel culture. Much as it took immense moral courage for John Proctor to face his own destiny, so too can we see modern-day heroes bravely weathering the slings and arrows of outraged, vile opposition. 

The Crucible is unmissable theatre for everyone. 

Runs until 5th November and screening live via NT Live on Thursday 26 January2023

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Barking In Essex

Wyndham's Theatre, London

***

Written by Clive Exton
Directed by Harry Burton

(l-r) Sheila Hancock, Lee Evans and Keeley Hawes

Barking In Essex is a new comedy to arrive in the West End. A classily cast show but nonetheless very much a tale of two halves. The play opens in a garishly tacky lounge somewhere in perma-tan Essex, where clearly no expense has been spared on a huge flat screen TV, a juke box and where chintzy posters of Brooklyn Bridge (complete with naff neon mini lights) and Pulp Fiction, adorn the walls. Rarely has a designer been so deliciously tasteless as Simon Higlett, in this perfectly contexted setting. The release of murderous villain Algie from jail is fearfully awaited by his family (don't worry, he never shows up and lest you think that is a spoiler, the programme and publicity, rather spoilingly, do not list Algie as a cast member.) The key to the plot is that whilst Algie's been locked up his family have spent all his swag and they know that his revenge will be ruthless.

Sheila Hancock is a marvellous ageing matriarch, whose withering put downs and occasional brilliantly timed dottiness are the mark of a true professional. This actress is long overdue a Dame-hood, but based on this show and its inconsistent material, she may yet have to wait a little longer. Lee Evans is her son and Keeley Hawes his wife. The play’s dialog is frequently foul mouthed and those who are easily offended should stay away. Littered with profanity indeed, but snobs beware, as for many years the language of the barrack room has gradually worked it's way into our common parlance, be it on the football terraces or in the reality TV shows that wallpaper our lives. People swear and as this blog has commented before, if mined responsibly both the f- and the c-word can yield rich seams of comedy. Well in Act One they do, with dialog that supports Evans' madcap antics in a tale that bears more than a nod to the genius of an Ealing Comedy complete with macguffin, laced with comeddia dell'arte and all brought bang up to date.

Act Two is more confused, with a strangely Latin-styled location and a story that whilst having been delightfully tenuous in the first half, crumbles away to a ridiculous ending. The only bit of humour post-interval is from Evans' physicality of performance though Karl Johnson puts in a craftily created performance as a doddering hitman and as a character who swears considerably less than his fellow performers, Exton has actually given this supporting role some of the show's funniest lines.

Lee Evans' fans will not be disappointed. His maladroit rubber faced presence is a gift to comedy writers, who when they sense their script may be tissue-paper thin, know that Evans' quirky gift will still salvage a laugh from the moment.

The first half of this show is an inspired work of funny fantasy, the second half is tedious. Exton's profanity dictates that this has to be a show for adults, so have a stiff drink before the show or even better, make it a large one in the interval. When you then find yourself watching Barking In Essex through beer goggles, you'll think its brilliant!


To book tickets for Barking In Essex, click here

Frankenstein - Review

Olivier Theatre, London - screened via NT Live


*****

Writer: Nick Dear, based on the novel by Mary Shelley

Director : Danny Boyle

Director for screen : Tim Van Someren







Benedict Cumberbact as The Creature and Jonny Lee Miller as Victor Frankenstein



It is a glorious crossover of digital technology and live performance, that is allowing National Theatre productions to be broadcast into remote cinemas. Whilst the projector can never recreate the intimacy and physicality of the shared experience of sitting in a theatre, when a production is either sold out, or impossible to get to, then NTLive is the next best thing. So it is with Frankenstein, a production that has by now garnered many deserved awards.

As has been widely reported, Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch played the roles of the Creature  and Victor Frankenstein, alternating the parts between them throughout the run.  I was fortunate enough to see the staged production in the Olivier Theatre last year, with Cumberbatch as the Creature. More recently I saw the NTLive broadcast, recorded last year, with the roles reversed. Both Boyle and Dear had encouraged audiences if possible to see both casts , a luxurious ambition in itself as just getting hold of a ticket to one of the performances last year was nigh on impossible.

The Best Actor awards that the production has won have been rightly shared by both men. Whilst the role of Victor required acting perhaps of a more traditional style, the delivery of the Creature demanded the actor to convince the audience that he was truly an animal learning the most basic bodily movements, with guttural speech abilities that evolved over the show's two hour length. It is a testimony to writer, director, and above all both performers, that this learning process and development was presented on stage with no trickery or special effect but rather simply by acting , movement and facial and vocal expression of the highest standard. That the Creature is also able to share his emotional and intellectual development with the audience is further evidence of the tour de force that the performances were.



Jonny Lee Miller as The Creature and Naomie Harris as Elizabeth

 Having seen both castings, it is possible to compare  - and my preference erred towards Lee Miller as the Creature with Cumberbatch as his creator.  Cumberbatch provides a deliciously patrician performance, which added to the crazed creative arrogance of the scientist. I found myself moved to hate the wickedness of his  Victor Frankenstein more, which in turn suggests that Lee Miller perhaps evoked stronger empathy as the Creature. A hideous monster, borne trusting into a hateful and suspicious world as an innocent and who discovers first desire and subsequently betrayal .

Naomie Harris was a delight as Elizabeth, Victor’s fiancée. She showed honesty, love and compassion to both Victor and the Creature and earned the audience’s sympathy convincingly. Also noteworthy was Karl Johnson, as the blind and hence non-judgmental Delacey, who teaches the Creature to read and to reason.

The supporting cast was predominantly excellent. In two minor roles , Ella Smith provided a very effective setting of the scene. First as a buxom prostitute, horrified by the Creature, and later as Clarice, re-assuring maid to Elizabeth nervous on her wedding night, Smith added a touch of horrific authenticity, redolent of Hammer horror films, suggesting with her warm naiveté, that terror was never far away.

The NTLive broadcast camerawork was skilful and well directed. We had sat in Row A of the circle last year, but even there, had not been able to observe the meticulous detail put into the Creature's stitches and make-up. That the horrific scarring of the Creature’s body stood up to the HD scrutiny of  a large screen digital projection, is further testimony to the brilliance of the National Theatre’s creative team.

Lighting and design were excellent, and the music by Underworld set the tone perfectly.

The National Theatre have a theatrical masterpiece with this production. See it if you can.