National Theatre (studio)
06 October 2022 (released)
11 October 2022
The Crucible, filmed on stage at the National Theatre on Thursday October 6th will be released in cinemas in UK/Ireland from 26th Jan and internationally from 2 March 2023.
Arthur Miller's partially fictionalised play about the people of Salem, Massachusetts, who ripped their community apart during the witch trials in 1962, remains a work of terrifying psychological brilliance. Written in 1953, it’s always been regarded as an allegory of Senator McCarthy's era hysteria but the subject clearly has potential to resonate with present day concerns. With the term witch-hunt now a cliché for the eradication of political enemies and the rise of conspiracy theories across the internet, it was surprising to find director Lyndsey Turner stay so close to the original. Purists will be pleased, whilst contemporary in its clean elegance, there are no big ideas to detract from the Salem stories original power.
Erin Doherty who is most widely known for the Crown but also an established stage performer plays Abigail, the leader of the young girls who ‘cry witch’ against dozens of innocent women. Her relationship with John Proctor (Brendan Cowell) is characterised by rage rather than passion, as she determines to get his wife hung for being a witch so that she can take her place. Lead by the insecure and power hungry Reverend Parris (Nick Fletcher), rage, envy and vengeance already brewing in the village, fuel the hunt for a supernatural answer to all that is wrong in the community.
When an educated Reverend comes to Salem with his books to seek out witchcraft which he claims leaves clear and precise marks, the horrors begin to unfold. Fisayo Akinade’s performance as Reverend Hale grows in strength and subtelty as he realises he has fuelled superstition and set the wheels of a flawed legal system grinding forwards to a horrifying conclusion.
Director Lyndsey Turner’s production is exceptionally clear within Es Elvlin’s elegant box design. The choral voices of the girls and stunning tableaux are haunting and unfussy. It’s faithful and crisp with the focus on the characters who do not seem to be from a world so far from our own. Whilst the three hours certainly don’t drag, at time the production lacks heat. Even the stunning visual curtain of rain that pours down around the boxed in world of Salem seems like an odd choice, bringing relief rather than fire.
With what could be described as witch hunts on social media, the rise in conspiracy theories and the divisive nature of our choices about what to believe (Brexit and Covid), there is certainly no lack of material to connect Miller’s masterpiece to contemporary concerns. But maybe that would have been too cheap. Turner’s production allows Miller’s masterpiece to shine with its extraordinarily powerful characterisation, biting dialogue and profound reflection on the human condition.
The Crucible, filmed on stage at the National Theatre on Thursday October 6th will be released in cinemas in UK/Ireland from 26th Jan and internationally from 2 March 2023.
