The Crucible at the Theatre Royal Brighton Review
Reviewed by Louise Watts
Close your eyes and imagine you are in the 17th Century where tales of witchcraft and wizardry are rife and the penalty for engaging in any of these activities is the loss of your life. This is exactly where I found myself last night when I attended “The Crucible” at the Theatre Royal in Brighton last night. “The Crucible” was written by the late Arthur Miller in 1953 and was based on the “Salem Witch Trials of 1692”. He wrote it in the 1950’s when America was in the throes of persecuting alleged communists. Miller identified several similarities with this punishment and the punishments in the Witch Trials and thus the play was written.
The set was very thought provoking and really set the scene for the opening of the play. The first scene involved a group of children in the woods engaging in what some would call dancing and some would call witchcraft. From the first scene, the atmosphere was set. I felt like I had been transported back to the 17th Century and was observing this happening in real life. The story revolves around the village of Salem where two young children have become unwell following this experience in the woods. The local Minister (whose daughter is one of the affected children) is determined to find out what has caused this illness and whether there is any link to witchcraft. He has a large task though as he is desperately trying to uphold his position in the village and his faith. The first act which was a little short of 80 minutes looked at who was alleged to be guilty of witchcraft and preparation for their trials. The language used throughout is typical for the era within which the play was based. At times, it was quite difficult to follow but it would not have been authentic had the correct language not been used. I have to say that all the cast deserve a medal for learning the script! The set was simple but realistic and the costumes were incredible, very simple but exactly as you would imagine in the 17th Century.
We were introduced in the first act to the Reverend Hale, played by Charlie Condou who is best known for playing Marcus Dent in Coronation Street. This part could not have been further from his role in the cobbles and demonstrated instantly what a talented and versatile actor he is. He was a sheer delight to watch and played his part to perfection. It was Rev Hale’s job to come and investigate what was occurring in Salem and sign the death warrant for anybody who was trialled and sentenced to hang.
The second act took a bit of a twist and became more focused on a local farmer John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth is played by Victoria Yeates who is best known for her role as Sister Winifred in the television show “Call the Midwife”. Elizabeth was aware that John had had an illicit relationship with Abigail Williams (one of the girls who was dancing in the woods). She has an elaborate plan to get Elizabeth charged with witchcraft and hanged so that she can have John to herself. Victoria’s performance as Elizabeth was both gripping and emotionally driven! When John’s wife is later arrested, it falls on him to try and prove her innocence at her trial. This threw up a moral dilemma for Rev Hale also as he firmly believed John’s version of events even if others didn’t. Numerous local women and men were eventually arrested and charged and were given two choices – confess and keep your life or deny it and hang! The morning of John’s execution arrives and his heavily pregnant wife is called upon to try and convince her husband to confess. Will he stand by the truth that he has nothing to do with witchcraft and pay with his life or will he confess in order to save his life for his wife and their soon to be four children but by doing so sell his soul to the devil? The final scene of the play involves John making his decision… which I am definitely not going to ruin by telling you which decision he makes!
The total running time was a little under 3 hours and although heavy and slightly difficult to follow sometimes with the language, it kept my attention the whole time and I was desperate to see if the truth would prevail for the characters involved. I cannot sing the praises of the cast enough and whilst I have commented on Charlie and Victoria specifically in this review, the whole cast were absolutely outstanding and deserve equal praise and congratulations for an absolutely incredible performance.
I would definitely recommend this play as an adult only play due to the length and depth of the story. The audience were all in fine spirits and the cast were well applauded at the end. I certainly did not hear anything being said that wasn’t positive.
The Theatre Royal as always was a lovely venue with friendly, helpful staff and a lovely atmosphere. Parking is easy as there is a multi-storey car park just around the corner. They offer a special evening rate so it is affordable too. A thoroughly enjoyable evening!
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £13.75 to £36.75 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).
The Crucible is at the Theatre Royal in Brighton from 24-29 April 2017. For more information or to book tickets visit www.atgtickets.com/brighton or call the box office on 0844 871 7650.
Theatre Royal. New Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1SD | 0844 871 7650
