The Crucible

From the ‘ridiculous’ to the ‘sublime’ … would be my best shot at describing the transition from the Watlington Players 2017 musical offering ‘Return to the Forbidden Planet’, to Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, ‘The Crucible’. The diversity of these two horizontally opposed titles could not be over stated. It was also uppermost in my mind that in these crazy days of 2017 anyone holding a grudge against a person in the public eye can destroy them with a single point of the finger (often without any proof whatsoever), Mr Miller’s tale of dark doings in Salem was looking like the Channel 4 News as I took my seat in the magnificent Watlington Village Hall. I also noticed I was so early even Cyril Pike was surprised. He was, however, not at all phased and completely ready, which is also true of Ben Robinson at the bar. One Diet Pepsi (other soft drinks are available) later, I was emotionally prepared for another roller-coaster ride on the Crucible express!

 

The last time I saw this play I advised those who had seen it with me to call in sick the next day claiming emotional exhaustion. The prophetic tale of suspected witchcraft in Salem is a lesson to us all, and one that has blatantly not been learned. Abigail Williams and friends are caught dancing naked in the woods and to deflect from their shame they suggest it was an action inspired by witchcraft. No sooner than the assertion is made than the small town is knee-deep in accusations, and swamped by outsiders led by well-meaning witch hunter Reverend Hale. The arrival of Massachusetts Deputy Governor Danforth accelerates the madness and things go from bad to worse as the number of accused, and latterly, the number of executed, rises quickly.

The first, the very first thing to say is regarding the promo video shot by Director, Ian Gooda as a prelude to this performance. It was beyond brilliant. No words from me can do it justice, and it is by no means an exaggeration to say I have watched it around 30 times. The beauty of having seen such a thing is that, when the lights went down, and the curtain went up (across), I was already completely comfortable that this was going to be a benchmark production. It seems only fair to say right now … that that is exactly what it was! The set (design uncredited but with painting by Kevin Rooney and Claire Cooper) was perfection. Simple, with no great need for changing, as we slipped seamlessly from the home of Reverend Parris to the Proctor house and from the courtroom to the jail. The lighting (Kevin Rooney) was … well I have no recollection of it, and that means it was perfect! Sound (Kevin Rooney … He has been busy!) was pretty much the same. Costumes (Dame Judy Parsons) were exquisite! They told the whole story even before anyone had the chance to utter a word. Complementary hair and make-up (uncredited) were excellent and incidental props (Mandi Field and Chris Bailey) were plentiful and perfectly appropriate.

This was an impressively large cast and in the sporting roles I enjoyed Steve Waters as Francis Nurse, Ian Gooda as Judge Hawthorne (a late sub I understand) Cate Waters as Rebecca Nurse and, having deserted the bar, Nerys Brooks made a first rate showing as Ann Putnam. allegedly her first time on stage!!! Sam Lord was in fine form as Ezekiel Cheever and what a pleasure to see Penny Cooke as Sarah Good and Lorna Hutchinson as Tituba both adding some considerable gravitas with a couple of outstanding cameos.

Ethan Robinson was the only break in the unbearable tension offering just a hint of comedy as Willard and Liam Baker presented one of his unusual straight roles as Thomas Putnam. This story is all about the girls who start and perpetuate the crisis on which this play hangs, and Cerys Brooks, Philly McFarlane and Becca Field all turned in a good shift as Susanna Walcott, Betty Parris and Mercy Lewis. It seems that at this point in every recent Watlington review I come to Alan Lord and heap platitudes upon him. Well if you are expecting a deviation from this tradition this is not the review for you. Mr Lord was once again outstanding and in a cast full of remarkable performances his was … remarkable. To pull off the part of Giles Corey you need a mighty stage presence and Mr Lord was as mighty on stage as ever he has been. He gave us pompous, overbearing and untimely, broken. And I loved it all.

In the more prominent roles, I loved Megan Shorthouse as Mary Warren. A beautifully controlled performance that culminated in her courtroom despair as the other girls destroy her testimony. The same must be said of Lucy Bearpark as the source of ignition and conniving troublemaker, Abigail Williams. Such was the quality of her performance I felt more anger towards her (or at least her part) than any other production I have seen. She has come to prominence here lately and just seems to get better and better.

There were so many good performances in this excellent production a writer can easily run out of superlatives, so forgive me if I inadvertently re-use some. As the complicated local vicar, Reverend Parris, Steve Books turned in yet another quality performance. Mr Brooks is always so confident with his lines these days and his portrayal of the bewildered priest was vintage. Brian Reeve-Hayes on the other hand is relatively new to me, having only seem him in July at the Hunstanton Drama Festival. A convincing American accent(!) and a powerful performance with my only observation being that it was cranked up to max from the off, which left Mr Reeve-Hayes nowhere to go as things got bigger. Having said that, his work in the final prison scene with his wife was wonderful and my tears fell silently onto Cyril Pikes Polished Village Hall floor. Of all the parts in Mr Miller’s work of genius, the most difficult must be that of visiting cleric, Reverend Hale. To show the trauma of a man who is completely good and overwhelmingly sincere, having to wrestle with his own acts of evil and then try to reverse or correct them was a joy to behold. Everyone knows Richard Abel to be a fine character actor, but in one of the many perfectly cast roles he really shone and could easily have found himself in the last-but-one paragraph.

Society Chairman and regular Director, Matthew Kerslake has (in the past … by me at least) been overlooked as a performer. He seems to do more on stage work now and what an amazing actor he is. This time out in the role of Deputy Governor Danforth, he was hypnotic. An effortlessly measured performance I just could not look away from him. Even though I know the man well … at no time during the production did I think it was Matt K …… not even for a moment. I may have said this last time out, but this was his finest performance to date. And you can quote me on that!

It is always nice to say that there were many who could have collected penultimate paragraph honours, and, in a production of this quality, there was a plentiful selection of remarkable performances it is true. But, then there was Megan Abbott, and from her first word to her final breakdown no-one else was really in the frame. No clever humorous reference Miss Abbott, you were breath-taking, and your incredible performance left me a pathetic, blubbering wreck with the final jail scene breaking me completely. You have notched up so many defining characterisations, but I am damned if this one didn’t beat them all!

Even as I start to type the final paragraph I can (in my head) hear the crowds chanting “GOODA … GOODA … GOODA”, and I am shouting it too. A piece of inspirational creative direction with the technical side difficult to fault. Ian Gooda seems to get the best from all his cast and it is safe to say that just about everyone in this cast delivered to (or close to) their highest standard. Mr Gooda truly understands theatre and he clearly understands ‘The Crucible’ because, as we reached the final blackout the curtain shut, and instead of bringing us down to earth with the bows … he just didn’t. Deciding instead to leave it where it lay and not ruin it by reminding us it was only Am dram. Genius! Well played Watlington - a cracking show that I still haven’t recovered from.

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