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054 – The Crucible, by Arthur Miller

054 – The Crucible, by Arthur Miller

Erin Doherty as Abigail Williams
and the cast of The Crucible
National Theatre London 2022
photo: Johan Persson

054 – The Crucible, by Arthur Miller

The curtain rises on a candlelit bedroom in a home in Salem Massachusetts in the spring of 1692. The Reverend Samuel Parris kneels praying beside the bed of his inert 10-year old daughter. He is praying for her recovery from a mysterious affliction that has overcome her, an affliction that the local doctor suggests has no natural cause. An affliction from which she has not woken since she was discovered in the woods the previous night dancing with her cousin Abigail. Not only is their dancing a sacrilege in this Puritan community, they were also observed enacting some form of pagan ritual led by their black servant Tituba, a ritual that rumour now construes as the work of witchcraft. Has Betty Parris succumbed to a spell cast by spirits in the service of the Devil?

It is not long before this tight-knit Christian community is gripped by hysteria at the threat of witchcraft from within, a threat that many genuinely fear and that some will exploit to their own advantage. This is Arthur Miller’s powerful, cautionary play, The Crucible, which recreates the real-life terror of the notorious Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote the play in 1952-3 at a time when America was going through a modern witch-hunt, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the investigations of the House Un-American Activities Committee, who sought to prosecute anyone with sympathies or connections to Communism. The Crucible was not an unqualified success on its premier on Broadway in 1953, but it has gone on to become Miller’s most frequently produced play. There is clearly something universal in its exploration of individual betrayal and institutional tyranny.

To help us explore the origins, meaning, and enduring relevance of The Crucible, I am joined from New York by an indisputable expert on Arthur Miller, Dr Stephen Marino.

As we recorded this episode a new production of The Crucible can be seen at the National Theatre in London. It runs until 5th November 2022. Click here for more information.

Dr Stephen Marino

Dr Stephen Marino is the founding editor of The Arthur Miller Journal, which features essays on all aspect of Miller’s life, work, and career. It is published by the Arthur Miller Society, in cooperation with the Arthur Miller Centre at the University of East Anglia and St. Francis College in Brooklyn, where Dr Marino is also on the faculty.

He is also the former president of the Arthur Miller Society, and his work on Arthur Miller has appeared in many journals and essay collections. He is the editor and author of several books on Miller, including Death of a Salesman & The Crucible – A Reader’s Guide to Essential Criticism (2015)Arthur Miller’s Century, Essays Celebrating the 100th Birthday of America’s Great Playwright (2017) and most recently Arthur Miller for the 21st Century – Contemporary Views of his Writings and Ideas published in 2020.

Loyal listeners may also recall that Steve did me the honour of appearing on the podcast in episode 13 about Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

Recommended Play

Steve recommended two plays:
A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, and
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard.

We have footnotes for this episode …

The Footnotes to our episode on The Crucible include some facts about the Salem Witch Trials and Miller’s invention; the meaning of the title of the play; and the instinct for self-preservation that drives many of the characters’ behaviour. 

Become a Patron!

Since I launched The Play Podcast in April 2020, I have managed to eschew any form of advertising or sponsorship, and I would like to continue to produce the podcast without doing so. I therefore invite you to  help me to continue to make the podcast by becoming a Patron.
Additional benefits available to Patrons include Footnotes on the plays covered in the podcast, as well as exclusive access to The Play Review.

For details click here

Thank you very much for listening and for your support.
Douglas

The Texts
If you are interested in buying the play text or other related books, we’d be delighted if you choose to purchase them from our selected partners Bookshop.org and Blackwell’s. Not only will you be supporting independent booksellers, we will also earn a small commission on every book you purchase, which helps to keep the podcast going. Click on the cover to buy from our chosen partner. Thank you.
You might also be interested in …
063 – Dancing at Lughnasa, by Brian Friel

063 – Dancing at Lughnasa, by Brian Friel

Brian Friel’s magical memory play Dancing at Lughnasa is set at the time of the harvest festival in rural Ireland in 1936. It’s account of the events of that summer in the house of the five unmarried Mundy sisters is filtered many years later through the memory of Michael, the son of the youngest sister. His memory is undoubtedly unreliable, but it is also funny, poetic and profoundly poignant.

Josie Rourke, who directs the gorgeous new production of the play currently playing at the National Theatre in London, joins us to explore Friel’s spellbinding masterpiece.

062 – Private Lives, by Noël Coward

062 – Private Lives, by Noël Coward

Noël Coward’s play Private Lives is both a dazzling dramatic comedy and an excoriating portrait of love and marriage among the disaffected elite of the Jazz Age. Coward himself starred in the premiere production in both London and New York in 1930, the critics acclaiming the show’s construction and wit, but predicting that it would not last. As a new production opens at the Donmar theatre in London, I ask Coward’s newest biographer, Oliver Soden, why the play has aged so well.

061 – Sea Creatures, by Cordelia Lynn

061 – Sea Creatures, by Cordelia Lynn

Cordelia Lynn’s play Sea Creatures is a poetic exploration of loss and grief, its setting betwixt the sea and shore rich in metaphoric resonances. As we record this episode, Sea Creatures is playing at the Hampstead Theatre in London in a spellbinding production directed by James Macdonald.

I am delighted to be joined by playwright Cordelia Lynn to talk about her fascinating new play.

Stephen Marino

Stephen Marino

Stephen Marino

Dr Stephen Marino is the founding editor of The Arthur Miller Journal, which features essays on all aspect of Miller’s life, work, and career. It is published by the Arthur Miller Society, in cooperation with the Arthur Miller Centre at the University of East Anglia and St. Francis College in Brooklyn, where Dr Marino is also on the faculty.

He is also the former president of the Arthur Miller Society, and his work on Arthur Miller has appeared in many journals and essay collections. He is the editor and author of several books on Miller, including Death of a Salesman & The Crucible – A Reader’s Guide to Essential Criticism (2015), Arthur Miller’s Century, Essays Celebrating the 100th Birthday of America’s Great Playwright (2017) and most recently Arthur Miller for the 21st Century – Contemporary Views of his Writings and Ideas published in 2020.

When I contacted Stephen to ask him if he’d join me on the podcast his response was that “he never passes up the opportunity to talk about Miller!”

Recommended Play(s)

In episode 13 Steve recommended A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

In episode 54 Steve recommended A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, and
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard.

 

 

 

013 – Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller

013 – Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller

Wendell Pierce as Willy Loman at the Young Vic Theatre, London, 2019 (c. Brinkoff Moegenburg)

013 – Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller’s great American classic Death of a Salesman is surely one of the most famous plays in history, being a constant on stages around the world and an enduring standard on educational curriculums. Miller’s psychological portrait of the eponymous salesman, Willy Loman, became emblematic of the personal challenges and costs for ordinary people in pursuit of the American Dream. It remains popular and relevant not just for its social commentary, but also for its innovative dramatic form and language, and for the emotional power of its characters and story.

We are delighted to welcome Dr Stephen Marino, founder of the Arthur Miller Society, to the podcast, who joins us from New York to explore how a play about a particular American family written more than seventy years ago continues to provoke and move us.

Dr Stephen Marino

Stephen Marino is the founding editor of The Arthur Miller Journal, which features essays on all aspect of Miller’s life, work, and career. It is published by the Arthur Miller Society, in cooperation with the Arthur Miller Centre at the University of East Anglia and St. Francis College in Brooklyn, where Dr Marino is also on the faculty.
He is also the former president of the Arthur Miller Society, and his work on Arthur Miller has appeared in many journals and essay collections. He is the editor and author of several books on Miller, including Death of a Salesman & The Crucible – A Reader’s Guide to Essential Criticism (2015), Arthur Miller’s Century, Essays Celebrating the 100th Birthday of America’s Great Playwright (2017) and most recently Arthur Miller for the 21st Century – Contemporary Views of his Writings and Ideas published in 2020.
When I contacted Stephen to ask him if he’d join me on the podcast his response was that “he never passes up the opportunity to talk about Miller!”

Recommended Play

Steve recommended A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.

Photo © Marc Brenner

We have footnotes for this episode …

The Footnotes to our Death of a Salesman episode cover the real life salesman in Miller’s family, why Happy likes bowling, more on fathers and sons, and on the fluid form of the play.

Patreon Page

BECOME A PATRON!

Since I launched The Play Podcast in April 2020, I have managed to eschew any form of advertising or sponsorship, and I would like to continue to produce the podcast without doing so. I therefore invite you to help me to continue to make the podcast by becoming a Patron.
Additional benefits available to Patrons include Footnotes on the plays covered in the podcast, as well as exclusive access to The Play Review.

For details click here

Thank you very much for listening and for your support.
Douglas

The Texts

If you are interested in buying the play text or other related books, we’d be delighted if you choose to purchase them by following the links below. We will earn a small commission on every book you purchase, which helps to keep the podcast going. You will also be supporting an independent bookseller. Thank you.

You might also be interested in …

063 – Dancing at Lughnasa, by Brian Friel

063 – Dancing at Lughnasa, by Brian Friel

Brian Friel’s magical memory play Dancing at Lughnasa is set at the time of the harvest festival in rural Ireland in 1936. It’s account of the events of that summer in the house of the five unmarried Mundy sisters is filtered many years later through the memory of Michael, the son of the youngest sister. His memory is undoubtedly unreliable, but it is also funny, poetic and profoundly poignant.

Josie Rourke, who directs the gorgeous new production of the play currently playing at the National Theatre in London, joins us to explore Friel’s spellbinding masterpiece.

062 – Private Lives, by Noël Coward

062 – Private Lives, by Noël Coward

Noël Coward’s play Private Lives is both a dazzling dramatic comedy and an excoriating portrait of love and marriage among the disaffected elite of the Jazz Age. Coward himself starred in the premiere production in both London and New York in 1930, the critics acclaiming the show’s construction and wit, but predicting that it would not last. As a new production opens at the Donmar theatre in London, I ask Coward’s newest biographer, Oliver Soden, why the play has aged so well.

061 – Sea Creatures, by Cordelia Lynn

061 – Sea Creatures, by Cordelia Lynn

Cordelia Lynn’s play Sea Creatures is a poetic exploration of loss and grief, its setting betwixt the sea and shore rich in metaphoric resonances. As we record this episode, Sea Creatures is playing at the Hampstead Theatre in London in a spellbinding production directed by James Macdonald.

I am delighted to be joined by playwright Cordelia Lynn to talk about her fascinating new play.