Melting pot of mass hysteria

The Manoel Theatre casts a spell on its audience as it grapples with the horrors of pride, revenge and fear in an adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play TheatreThe CrucibleManoel Theatre It may seem odd to start a review of Arthur Miller’s 1953 play The Crucible, with a quote from L.P. Hartley: “The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there.” But this statement is particularly apt to describe Miller’s use of the historical context of his play, in my interpretation that the execution of things may have been different in the past but the intentions, motivations and consequences never truly differ from one era to another. Coincidentally, Hartley’s The Go-Between was also written in 1953. This speaks volumes about the rebellious and defining movements of mid-20th century cultural and artistic circles. The primal distasteful emotions of pride, revenge, vindictiveness, lust and fear are all explored in Miller’s excellent script, which looks at how coercion induced by mass hysteria and torture, both psychological and physical, can lead communities to turn on themselves and implode. Personal relationships between friends, neighbours, family and lovers are all tested to the...