Image: eaglesnesttheatre.com
The Eagle’s Nest’s production of The Crucible is an uneven experience. However, it does convey the power and continuing relevance of Arthur Miller’s classic play, based on the witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts during the 1690s.
A group of teenage girls are caught dancing in the forest – strictly forbidden in their repressive Puritan community – and are accused of summoning spirits. To draw suspicion away from themselves, the girls accuse other village women of witchcraft. When legal and religious authorities become involved, these charges spiral out of control; townsfolk start denouncing their neighbours to save themselves or to dispose of inconvenient rivals for land or love.
One such is Abigail, a former maid of farmer John Proctor. His wife Elizabeth dismissed the girl when she discovered she and John had been having an affair, and Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft in revenge. The Proctors’ destruction forms the heart of the play.
James Adler gives us a brooding, volatile John Proctor, at odds with Miller’s description of the character as ‘even-tempered’. Adler’s voice jumps from low growling and to loud shouting at the slightest provocation. This tendency is shared by Zoë Amanda Wilson as a shrill, skittish Abigail; her indignant reaction in Act I to Proctor’s rejection is delivered at top volume, easily overheard by the parishioners singing psalms offstage. The all-important chemistry between these two fails to ignite.
Things improve in Act II with the introduction of Rebecca Morton as Elizabeth. Morton brings wounded dignity and dry humour to the character of a wife struggling to come to terms with her husband’s infidelity, and brings out some subtlety in Adler’s performance during their scenes together.
Act III marks the high point of this production. Sebastian Gunner is chillingly suave as Governor Danforth, and the girls are convincingly hysterical during their collective hallucination. Also notable is Hannah Bolt as the Proctors’ new servant Mary Warren. Bolt makes Mary’s transition from put-upon, spineless girl to puffed-up ‘official of the court’ surprisingly sympathetic. Terrified, confused, and bullied at every turn, she flails for safety in an impossible situation.
But the absolute standout is Colin Craig as Reverend John Hale. Craig looks much younger than Miller’s conception of the character, but uses this to advantage, portraying the Reverend as a naive idealist, increasingly horrified at the madness he has unleashed and helpless to prevent its onslaught.
Act IV flags somewhat, mostly due to the venue’s limitations. Rebecca Morton’s final line is barely audible over the pre-recorded drums, an oversight in the otherwise excellent sound production by Jess Keefe. The acoustics of Brunswick Scout Hall amplify the impact of Francis Nurse’s (Mark Reed) walking stick and John Proctor’s manacles on the stage.
A lack of wings necessitates actors traversing a long distance to centre stage, an even slower journey when hampered by the props mentioned above. As James Adler is obliged to exit backwards on his final journey to the scaffold, his prolonged progress threatens to cross the fine line into the unintentionally comic. Fortunately, Adler does his best work in this act as a transformed Proctor, humbled and broken by the loss of his integrity and good name, and his gravitas manages to overcome this awkward staging.
Miller wrote The Crucible in response to the anti-communist hysteria of the 1950s, which he felt arose from a similar spirit of demonising the enemy. Sadly, its themes of religious fanaticism overriding logic, and the corruption of legal and political institutions, are more pertinent now than ever. Despite its flaws, this production does justice to the power of this magnificent play.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Written by Arthur Miller
Cast: David McCrae, Rebecca Morton, Kain Baigent, Kirsten Page, Scott Welsh, Lawrie Fildes, Sebastian Gunner, Donna De Palma, Zoë Amanda Wilson, Gemma Livingstone, Todd Levi, Ezekiel Day, Mark Reed, Colin Craig, James Adler, John Bolger, Hannah Bolt, Xanthe Gunner, Maureen Hartley
Directed by Phil Roberts
Presented by The Eagle’s Nest Theatre Company
23 May-14 June
Brunswick Scout Hall
