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4 August, 2021
Classic still relevant in age of online abuse and cancel culture
A Takapuna-based theatre group that likes to tackle challenging plays is soon to stage a 1953 classic with contemporary relevance.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller dramatises the hysteria surrounding the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s, in an allegory for McCarthyism’s persecution of suspected communists in the United States mid-20th century.
The witch-hunt messaging translates to today, says director James Bell, of the Foolish Wit theatre company. “It could be happening now, it wouldn’t take that much,” he says, pointing to the likes of social media backlashes and cancel culture, and to stories such as The Handmaid’s Tale, in which particular groups are vilified.
Bell, who co-founded Foolish Wit several years ago, says he learned on overseas travels how witch-hunts were common among many different cultures. He was told of women in Sweden being labelled as witches, and of witch trials in the UK. On a visit to the United States, he found himself being taken to dinner in Salem itself. “I realised how universal it is.”
In preparing for The Crucible, he learned that one family was behind a lot of the accusations in Salem and they stood to benefit, because some of the women accused of being witches forfeited their land. The way a small vocal group could skew events was still relevant, he said.
The play – which has a big ensemble cast of 19, ranging from teenagers to an octogenarian – is suitable for actors of varied experiences.
This, says Bells, fits in with company’s original aims of providing opportunities “to do theatre that other people weren’t doing”. Last year, the group staged The Vagina Monologues, a play other more commercially focused groups tended to shy away from.
“We started Foolish Wit because there were younger actors in the community who wanted to tackle more contemporary works and classics like The Crucible, as distinct from Roger Hall, etc, for older people.”
Bell, who lives in Forrest Hill, discovered his love of drama helping backstage when at Wairau Intermediate. He went on to join Shoreside Theatre in the early 1990s, and has been directing since 2007. He now produces shows as well. Bell’s day job is business manager at the PumpHouse Theatre, where The Crucible will be performed. He works with Foolish Wit co-founder Mags Delaney, who is the PumpHouse community engagement co-ordinator. His flatmate, Aria Harrison-Sparke, is the third co-founder; they met doing Shakespeare in the Park, on which she was a costume designer.
The trio aim to do two productions a year as a way of giving more people the chance to give theatre a go. “We’re trying develop an audience for good-quality performance that people down the road can go and enjoy.”
• The Crucible, at the PumpHouse, 11-15 August. Tickets from $25 at pumphouse.co.nz
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