The Crucible at Shakespeare’s Globe Review
The company in The Crucible at Shakespeare's Globe. Photo by Marc Brenner
Written by Penny for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Shakespeare’s Globe is a stunning venue to visit. Set right by the River Thames, next to Bankside Pier, it’s built very close to the site of the original Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare staged his plays. The Globe was destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt and then demolished in 1644. The modern Globe is a pretty faithful reconstruction, although thankfully it offers modern toilet facilities and cushions to make the benched seating a little more comfortable! Ticket prices are not prohibitive, and if you’re able to stand, you can pay as little as £5 for a “Groundling” ticket, standing in the area right in front of the stage, a tradition that dates back to the original theatre and making it accessible to everyone. Whether you sit or stand, it’s well worth arriving early to soak up the atmosphere.
These days, the theatre still mainly performs Shakespeare, but with other productions included in its repertoire, including this season’s production of The Crucible. Arthur Miller’s 1953 play about the Salem Witch Trials of the 17th Century is the first modern classic play to be performed at Shakespeare’s Globe, in a limited summer run.
Written as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the United States government persecuted people accused of being communists, The Crucible focuses on the hysteria that builds in Salem, Massachusetts, when a group of teenage girls are suspected of practising witchcraft. “I saw Sarah Good with the devil!” the girls cry, whipping themselves and each other up into a state. Accusations are made, initially focusing on “easy” targets like a black slave and a homeless old woman. But when these accusations extend to a midwife, a woman who has the audacity to read, and then even pillars of the community are accused, it’s clear nobody is safe from the “fake news” being spread, and the play examines what lengths the townspeople will go to in order to save themselves.
Designer Amelia Jane Hankin places the production firmly in the 17th Century, scenes are set with simple furniture – from the Proctors’ kitchen to the Courtroom. Costumes are modest and reflect the strong religious values that everybody is expected to adhere to. There are musicians on the upper level of the set, providing dramatic accompaniment to scene changes and pivotal moments with Renell Shaw’s music.
Director Ola Ince has brought together a cast of Massachusetts settlers who offer a range of accents and dialects that reflect the diversity of this fledgling community. Some of the dialogue is a little difficult to hear given the different accents and some of the younger voices need to project more in order to contend with the open-air conditions and, unfortunately for Press Night, the fairly constant presence of a police helicopter overhead! The majority of the cast handled this superbly, even throwing in an ad lib to acknowledge a plane flying over the theatre at a particularly opportune moment!
The play moves at a great pace, and as the townspeople’s petty rivalries are revealed, the audience is drawn into the story, inevitably making their own judgements. There are more laughs than you might expect, focusing on the ridiculous nature of the girls’ accusations and the 17th-century beliefs and practices that gave these accusations credibility. It’s a little too jarring at times when a horrific revelation inspires a laugh from the audience. But this lighter treatment does build to a very dramatic conclusion, set against what has gone before.
Ince makes great use of the Globe’s stage – characters lurk behind pillars and on the set’s upper level or sit to the side apart from the main action, but still reacting and silently sharing their stories. Less successful was the decision to stage some of the Courtroom scene on platforms amongst the Groundlings. Characters would take their places on these smaller staging areas only to then climb down and up onto the main stage when they were called to give their evidence. It’s difficult not to compare this with The Bridge Theatre’s recent production of Guys and Dolls – but without spotlights and wearing costumes in muted colours, this cast did not stand out amongst the audience and could have benefitted from crew members to help ease their way to the main stage rather than having to push through the crowd. It did give what is probably a realistic impression of the claustrophobic mood in a 17th-century courtroom, but didn’t add to the production, slowing the pace a little.
The strong cast convincingly presented a Salem community on the brink of collapse. With a big emphasis on performative religious observation, Steve Furst impressed as the hypocritical Reverend Parris with one eye on his bible and the other on his salary and perks of the job. As Rebecca Nurse, Joanne Howarth gave us a devout and honest woman, unafraid of whatever her fate may be and delivered with crystal clear diction, meaning that every line landed. It’s difficult to play one of the young girls and still retain audience sympathy, but Bethany Wooding achieved this, playing the vulnerable and conflicted Mary Warren. But the stand-out performance came from Gavin Drea as John Proctor – presenting a flawed man with passion and emotion and clearly reflecting his character’s growing sense of horror and hopelessness as events unfold. As his wife Elizabeth, Phoebe Pryce also stood out, her steadfast loyalty a marked contrast with the hysteria building around her.
Although it is a modern classic, The Crucible is a perfect fit for Shakespeare’s Globe – its subject matter, although based on events from the 17th Century, still has a lot to say in a modern world where the spread of misinformation is seemingly at an all time high. It’s a powerful and thought provoking production that still manages to be very entertaining thanks to its excellent pace, clear character development and a surprising use of humour to balance the more serious subject matter.
The Crucible is on at the Globe Theatre until Saturday 12th July. Find out more and book here.
★★★★
