Miller classic packs a punch
THE
CRUCIBLE: The Burnside Players
Burnside
Ballroom, cnr Portrush
& Greenhill roads, Tusmore
To
April 29
A
HOTHOUSE atmosphere of fear, persecution, and resultant retreat into self
preservation is at the heart of The Crucible,
set in 17th century
Arthur
Miller's inspiration to write his classic play was the anti-communist witch
hunt of the 1950s led by Joseph McCarthy, and it's
relevant today in the age of terrorism.
When
Betty Paris, the daughter of the town's Reverend falls strangely ill after a
late night dancing in the forest with cousin Abigail, her father Samuel fears
Becky's condition might be considered by towns people an act of witch craft – precisely
what happens.
Suddenly,
the town is torn apart. People turn on each other in using
zealous anti-witchcraft accusations to settle hidden agendas and in the
process, turns sly Abigail into a very dangerous young woman.
Director
Megan Dansie's period style production manages to be
simultaneously intimate yet grand in scale.
She
draws the audience around her wide sparse prosage
stage setting letting them close to the action while having room to manage the
21-member cast.
After a
shaky start, the actors begin to warm to and articulate with skill the many
petty and deadly agendas set loose by witchcraft hysteria.
This is
due to perfectly casting lead roles with actors capable of carrying Miller's
fiercely probing writing, mitigating the weaker output created by some actor
combinations.
Once
Brain Godfrey as Deputy Governor Danforth makes his
entrance, the full strength of Dansie's production
comes to the fore.
Godfrey's
magnificently charismatic judge and executioner becomes the fulcrum on which
pivots unbridled fanaticism against reason.
John
Rosen and Louise Brumby as John and Elizabeth Proctor are pitted against Danforth and Samuel Paris (Richard Gruca).
Their
richly warm, human characters strike at the heart, particularly Brumby's
outstandingly delicate, deftly assured performance.
Caught
in the middle, Siobhan Docherty's Abigail offers the right level of impassioned
amorality but at times needs to control her performance more.
This
enthralling but slow-burning production punches well above its weight at
amateur theatre level thanks to actors such as Brumby, Rosen and Godfrey, who
I'd like to see working as professional actors.
DAVID O'BRIEN
● Review published in the Leader Messenger,