Theatre Play Review Arthur Miller The Crucible

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1955 Penguin Books. Spoiler alerts Famous play based on the hysteria and tragedy of the Salem witch trials of the late 17th century, and a parable on the McCarthy anti-communist witch-hunts that were ongoing in the US at the time the play came out, receiving its first performance in the UK. Salem erupted into a frenzy of superstition and finger-pointing when a group of children were discovered dancing in the woods. Rumours quickly spread that they had been dancing naked in some kind of Satanic ritual. Some children admitted to as much to avoid being whipped, which meant accusing adults of trying to seduce them into witch-craft. One girl in the play, Abigail Williams, exploits the situation to get rid of adults who she cannot easily manipulate. Having a crush on towns-man, John Proctor, she accuses his pregnant wife of Satan worship to get her out of the way and secure John’s love. When John tries to expose Abigail as a liar, falsifying her testimonies, he saves his wife, but condemns himself for the same offense. Unwilling to save himself by giving the names of other accomplices, he faces the noose – a fate shared by many, with others facing deportation. The situation was worsened by adults eager to get rid of neighbours in order to buy up their land, and a well meaning judge torn between recognition of the phoniness of the charges, and having to maintain faith in both law and religion – he chooses the latter. A powerful play to see performed, and it has been filmed, though as a written text, it is fragmented by explanatory notes embedded in the text rather than being given as a separate forward or after-word essay. The plays relevance in the age of paranoia about terrorists and sex-offenders being all around us is all too obvious. The play is as contemporary as ever. Arthur Chappell