THE CRUCIBLE. To 1 March.
Bolton.
THE CRUCIBLE
by Arthur Miller
Octagon Theatre To 1 March 2008.
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat 23, 27 Feb 2pm, 5, 7, 20 Feb 1.30pm.
Audio-described 20 Feb 7.30pm.
BSL Signed 21 Feb.
Runs 3hr 10min One interval.
TICKETS: 01204 520661.
www.octagonbolton.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 1 February.
A fine Crucible at the Octagon.
As the Octagon’s 40th Anniversary season approaches half-way it’s fitting the theatre measures itself against a major drama. The Crucible has received multiple productions, including from major British companies. And its relevance has, if anything, increased since its 1953 premiere.
Arthur Miller parallels witchcraft fears in 1690s Puritan Massachusetts with the anti-Communist McCarthy hearings of his own time, perhaps less of a direct correlation than recent cases of parents having children removed on spurious accusations of abuse, malicious allegations, ‘recovered memory syndrome’ etc.
Mark Babych’s revival can’t explore every detail previous productions have revealed. Abigail’s sexuality, the Proctors’ relationship and its tragic dimension, have been explored further. Indeed, Chook Sibtain’s Proctor initially seems under-expressed. But Proctor is a farmer not an orator, and Sibtain gains a final strength as the imprisoned man gropes to a full understanding of his dignity.
Mairead Conneely makes clear Elizabeth’s wish to be a good wife in domestic activities, alongside her physical coldness in the limited contact between them.
Such detail is part of the clarity Babych achieves also in the small society of Salem village. Claude Close’s brief scenes make clear the relentlessness of Thomas Putnam, as Susan Twist shows in a few comments and questions how the death of her children could lead a distressed mother to believe witchcraft was aboard.
Clarity shimmers through the cast, making Sean O’Callaghan’s unpopular cleric someone who cares for his daughter, then safeguards his reputation with increasing desperation, until he’s reduced to hunched whispering as society collapses around him. A fine contrast too between Stuart Fox’s Danforth, set irresistibly in his conventional mindset and legalistic ways, and Matthew Rixon’s Hale, who moves from mere learning to understanding and involvement.
Add Leigh Symonds’ youthful Cheever, for whom facts are all, as he carries out court orders and Hayley Jane Standing’s prominent Mary Warren, caught between streams of duty, new-found importance, truthfulness and fear. Add also Christopher Madin’s increasingly clashing score, which supports each act’s end, helping send the first scene’s cries of witchery ominously through the audience, and there’s a 40th-anniversary production that should be long-remembered in Bolton.
Reverend Parris: Sean O’Callaghan.
Betty Parris: Jenna Southworth.
Tituba: Kay Purcell.
Abigail Williams: Catherine Kinsella.
Susanna Walcot: Rebecca Elliot.
Ann Putnam/Sarah Good: Susan Twist.
Thomas Putnam: Claude Close.
Mercy Lewis: Claire Lever.
Mary Warren: Hayley Jane Standing.
John Proctor: Chook Sibtain.
Rebecca Nurse: Eileen O’Brien.
Giles Corey: Martyn Read.
Reverend Hale: Matthew Rixon.
Elizabeth Proctor: Mairead Conneely.
Francis Nurse: Richard Evans.
Ezekiel Cheever: Leigh Symonds.
Judge Hathorne: Will Tacey.
Danforth: Stuart Fox.
Director: Mark Babych.
Designer: Richard Foxton.
Lighting: Jason Osterman.
Sound: Andy Smith.
Composer: Christopher Madin.
Dialect coach: Sally Hague.
2008-02-04 10:14:11