Review: The Crucible, Drama Studio, 15/11/12

Victoria Finan reviews UEA Drama Society’s production of Arthur Miller’s classic.

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There are not many modern pieces of theatre that are nearly three hours long. In an era of students who get bored if nothing has happened in the first fifteen minutes of ‘Made in Chelsea’, it takes something pretty special to keep our attention fixed.

Thankfully, UEA Drama Society’s production of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ was as engrossing and entertaining as it was lengthy. Cameron Tucker’s dramatization of the famous piece, which depicts the Salem Witch Trials as a response to the 1950s American communist witch-hunt, was ambitious, atmospheric  and confident- and left the audience spellbound.

‘The Crucible’ documents the events of the trials by focusing on the individuals it affected rather than Salem society as a whole, and this really allowed the leading actors time to show off their various talents.

Whilst the acting, as we have come to expect from UEA Drama, was almost uniformally excellent, there were a couple of stand out performances. Bethany Down’s portrayal of the antagonist of the piece, Abigail Williams – the girl who first accuses Salem residents of witchcraft, was in turn evocative and infuriating.

Matt Carson played Reverend Hale, one of the sole voices of reason at the trials with dignity and understated intelligence – but for The Tab, it was second year International Relations student Jamie Heath who proved the revelation of ‘The Crucible’.

His depiction of Giles Corey- an old man who loses everything he has to the witch trials, was in turn hilarious and deeply moving. It’s no mean feat to portray an elderly character without appearing stereotypical or patronizing – but in Jamie Heath, we may have a contender for the successor of the late, great Clive Dunn.

Whilst the two-hander scenes provided just the right amount of claustrophobia and tension, it was the ensemble sections of the play that stood out. The courtroom scene was fast paced and deeply chilling, and the cast used chorus work to great effect – for example a large group of girls parroting an accused witch to a rising crescendo.

The set was stark, clean and deeply reminiscent of New England- but a special mention must go to the costumes. It was evident that so much research and hard work had gone into their design and construction, and for a piece that demands an absolute suspension of disbelief, it’s the little things like this that ultimately contribute to the realism of the piece.

The Tab’s criticisms of ‘The Crucible’ are niggling – the movement of some actors was occasionally poor which meant we struggled to hear them, and when every line is crucial it meant we had to piece together what had been said and why. There were a couple of technical glitches which are really only to be expected for a first night of a student drama production- but on the whole, ‘The Crucible’ was accomplished and deeply unnerving.

Cameron Tucker stated before the play that he wanted his audience to leave the piece frustrated and questioning the justice system. For one night only, we were all invited to partake in the Salem Witch Trials, and to judge not only the accused but 17th century American society and our own modern response to mass hysteria and the persecution of innocents.

The witches of Salem may now be regarded as just falsely accused chess pieces of a much more intricate game, but UEA Drama Society created a piece that allowed them to simply weave their magic.