Mysterious and shrouded in fog, a group of women perform a solemn death dance around empty chairs – an eerie foresight into the fate of a community that will be decimated by a relentless witch hunt. As an opening it’s tender, quiet and simple, but also quite unlike the high-octane shout matches that dominate the majority of The Old Vic’s new version of The Crucible starring Richard Armitage.
Armitage who plays the adulterous farmer John Proctor scowls attractively from the poster outside the theatre and beckons to enter the world of 1692 Salem. Here, a group of young girls on the cusp to womanhood is discovered dancing naked in the woods. It’s an act of secret rebellion against the restrictive values of their Puritan community and it is quickly decided that this kind of liberation must be quenched. In the hands of the South African female director Yaël Farber The Crucible’s inherent misogyny shines through rather clearly but remains uncommented.
Abigail Williams, played by a fierce and nuanced Samantha Colley, is the leader of the group of young woman who starts accusing other community members of being in coalition with Satan. In swoop an examining reverend and a judge and the literal witch hunt is in full force. Personal, moral responsibility over your own actions is put up against unquestioned and perverted Christian values. While this gives an intriguing underlying conflict it is unclear where Farber sees her own emphasis. The overlong production (3h45 on the press night) seems to have been barely cut and as it is, its main focus is the hysterical way public debate is led if conservative values and moral ambiguities clash.
Soutra Gilmour’s design sees the Old Vic turned into an in the round space in which the audience is part spectator of the trials and part thrown into a crucible of heightened emotions itself. The dull colours of set and costumes drape a sorrowful cloak around everyone, giving a real impression of the hardship of 17th century life in the colonies. Prosecutor Govenor Danforth is played by Jack Ellis rather big-gestured as a stubborn and calculating official with little capacity for common sense. He doesn’t quite integrate into the whole lugubrious affair and when Armitage and Ellis have their exchange over Proctor’s confession it is an enduring shouting match that undercuts the poignancy of the “name” speech and lessens the impact of Miller’s beautiful use of language.
One of the plays difficult turns is that it morally redeems a man who betrays his wife with their teenage servant Abigail Williams and makes the girl out to be the aggressor. She is the real cause of all the evil befalling the village. Is it really enough for Proctor to be repentant about his own failings, to come out at the end as a noble man who is, ultimately, wrongly punished? Moreover, Abigail consciously chooses to exert destructive power over those who stand in her way. With Abigail trying to dispose of John’s wife and turning on Mary Warren (exquisite, Natalie Gavin) when she claims that the witchcraft is all made up, there is barely any female solidarity or if there it is entirely destructive.
Anne Madeley portrays Proctor’s wife with the necessary reservation and serves as a catalyst to both, his initial moral failings and his ultimate redemption. It’s important to note that the bubbling suspicions and misgivings fester into a wound the from which the community will never recover and it’s all caused by the hand of a young woman turned away by a man and facilitated by government-orchestrated mass hysteria. It’s like #Everydaysexism never happened and there definitely are enough people out there who would like to pretend it hasn’t. Although it’s visually captivating and has some outstanding performances (Adrian Schiller’s Reverend Hale), this is not going to be my favourite Crucible but then I’m not sure it really wants to be.