The Crucible

Nothing captivates an audience’s attention like a witch hunt. The sight of townsfolk descending en mass, rife with superstition and hungry for blood, pitchforks held high and screaming; ‘burn her! She’s a witch’ resonating through the air. Ah…a fun, family night out. Arthur Miller’s tragic drama, The Crucible, not only has witch hunts, but a whole gamut of other dark and scary things that will have you looking over your shoulder and jumping at the sight of your shadow for days to come.

Written by Miller in the 1950’s, The Crucible is set in 1692 Salem Massachusetts. A place where hard work and church activities were the only pastimes deemed appropriate. Enter the jealous Abigail Williams, a seventeen year old girl with a sinister crush on a man (John Proctor) who is not only several years her senior, but also her sister’s husband (awkward!). Driven by her insatiable lust for John, Abigail embarks on a journey that leads the sleepy, God fearing county of Salem into a deadly spiral of persecution and blame, resulting in many, many deaths.   

The Crucible has been studied for years in schools and universities, all over the world. It has also been made into a movie, twice. However, it is on the stage where Miller’s true meaning and haunting narrative is realised. Ad Lib Entertainment, based in Narre Warren, has been encouraging our theatrical youth to tread the boards for a number of years now. Following a successful season of their pantomime Puss’N’Boots in September, director Matt Hillman wanted to sink his teeth into something a little more dark and challenge the abilities of his youthful cast. The Crucible definitely ticks all those boxes.

Wanting to know more about the upcoming production, I went straight to the source and was able to have a chat with two of the leading actors. Aaron and Roxanne play two of the main characters, John Proctor and Abigail Williams. Roxanne is in her fifth year of working with Ad Lib Entertainment while Aaron is in his preliminary year.

I first asked Aaron (who plays protagonist John Proctor) how he reacted when he found out who he would be playing; “I was really excited when I was chosen for the leading role, I was like ‘yes’ and then ‘oh no, what’s The Crucible??’ I’d never heard of it before….but [then I did some research, and found out] it’s a really awesome play. I really like it.” Playing such a serious character like Proctor was a challenge for Aaron (who’s last Ad Lib role was the King in Puss’N’Boots). He found it hard to relate to him at the start, “[John]’s a pretty mean guy”. So, in order to understand his character better, like Marlon Brando and many more before him, Aaron turned to method acting. “Yeah, I tried some method acting, which really worked… the other day in rehearsal, I was in the moment [I know it sounds stupid], it was really good… strange but [surprisingly] good.” For Roxanne, she too had little knowledge of ‘The Crucible’ before rehearsals started. “My sister was studying the play at the time at school, and she told me that it was about witches, hangings and death. [but it’s so much more than that]…it’s a good play.” I asked her about her character, Abigail. “I guess she’s the villain. [She’s] in love, well thinks she’s in love, with John. She’s had a pretty hard life, her parents were murdered. She’s sort of isolated from everyone else. She just wants to be loved. She wants John Proctor so bad that she makes some really bad decisions, which in turn hold her responsible for the death of over a third of the population through witchcraft accusations! She’s not really a happy person at all.” The character of the mentally deranged Abigail is in stark contrast to Roxanne’s last Ad Lib character, the charismatic Puss in ‘Puss’N’Boots’. But though it has been a challenge for these young actors to get inside their character’s heads, as the rehearsals went on, their knowledge of and connection to the characters grew.

This deep connection to the characters has been accredited to director, Matt Hillman.  “[Matt] has worked with the cast trying to achieve a really clear understanding of the character’s motivations and feelings, getting us to understand the motivations behind their actions.” (Roxanne) “He allows us to put in our opinions of the character…rather than just telling us what to do. It just makes the characters stronger…The cast have done an amazing job under Matt’s direction…everyone is working so, so hard.” (Aaron)

With a show like The Crucible that encompasses adultery, witchcraft, slaves, torture, theft, insanity, devious manipulation, lies, deception and capital punishment, it’s hard to see why any teenager (and teenager at heart) wouldn’t be excited to revive the characters. But don’t be fooled by their age, these young actors clearly have a deep understanding of their characters and the messages in the play. And if the promotional shots are anything to go by, this production will be one of the scariest and sinister performances Ad Lib have ever produced. So bring you torches and pitchforks and have your night-light standing by…. I know I will.

The Details

Venue: The Gem Theatre (Kilvington Drive, Emerald)

Date: Saturday the 10^th & Sunday the 11^th of December, 2011

Time: Saturday, 8pm. Sunday, 3pm & 8pm

Prices: Adult, $25. Concession, $20

Bookings: call 5941 1627.