Review Roundup: JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN at Royal Court Theatre

Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain is making its European premiere at The Royal Court Theatre in London. The production, directed by Tony Award-winner Danya Taymor, will run through Saturday 25 April 2026 at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.

Five young women running on pop music, optimism, and fury are about to shed light on the darkest secrets in their small town.  A story about girlhood, power, and questioning the narratives we’ve been taught. See what the critics are saying...

Cindy Marcolina, BroadwayWorld: This is a play that must be seen by all, irrespective of gender, age, and background. It’s the perfect gateway for a new audience, and proof that theatre doesn’t have to pander to the grey pound to mean something. Pop culture and youth matter as much as classic literature and drama do. The production is relatable, accessible, poignant, and bursting with ideas. Beg, borrow, steal, but get yourself into this utterly galvanising room!

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: Kimberly Belflower’s revisionist take on Arthur Miller’s classic The Crucible re-spins the witch-hunts for the #MeToo generation. A classroom of teenagers – mostly girls – want to set up a feminist club, which is sparked, you assume, by the news headlines. Set in 2018, it is an original way to deal with adolescent girlhood in the direct fallout of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, although the play takes a while to gather power. Beth (Holly Howden Gilchrist) is the class swot; Ivy (Clare Hughes) has a father accused of inappropriate behaviour at work; Nell (Lauryn Ajufo) is the new girl; Raelynn (Miya James) is a pastor’s daughter whose ex-boyfriend cheated on her with Shelby (Sadie Soverall). The last of these is key to proceedings but is absent from school – and this play – for quite a while. This is a small-town Georgia high school and the idea of a feminist club is deemed too hot to handle until a charismatic (and, to several of the girls, sexy) teacher, Carter Smith (Dónal Finn), intervenes with the idea that it could include boys, too. Dónal Finn, centre, in John Proctor Is the Villain. View image in fullscreen Lessons in feminism … Dónal Finn, centre, in John Proctor Is the Villain. Photograph: Camilla Greenwell Directed by Danya Taymor and performed straight through at under two hours, the script’s pivot is the play they are studying – The Crucible – under Mr Smith. Alongside it is their growing understanding of intersectional feminism, which sometimes bears adult realisations on sex and power. Flashes of personal drama come with a pointed spotlight on whichever character is under focus and there are exuberantly poppy paeans to Lorde, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard It is sweet but slow and slight until the parallel to Miller’s play is revealed with a shock. The initial Dead Poets Society vibe sours and Miller’s play takes on dark contemporary relevance around #MeToo, although this parallel stays hazy: there is a sense that Ivy feels her father is a casualty of the witch-hunt, but there is also a raised consciousness around male predatory behaviour, which has until now remained unspoken by these teenagers. Soverall is a standout in a role originally played by Sadie Sink in Taymor’s Broadway production; she and James have an intimate and awkwardly goofy chemistry as estranged best friends that is tender and convincing.

Andrzej Lukowski, TimeOut: Danya Taymor’s production – which transfers recast from a smash Broadway run – is an absolute blast, the many serious issues raised all of a piece with its breathless ebullience and Belflower’s endlessly witty text. As much as anything else, it’s a wholehearted celebration of teen girl dorkiness and a rebuttal to the idea their lives should be viewed through a sexual lens, even in sympathy.

Marianka Swain, London Theatre: Belflower’s script can be overly didactic, but her messaging is blazingly important: how girls are taught to make themselves smaller, so as not to threaten or inconvenience men in a patriarchal society by being “difficult” or “a lot”, to instead be pleasant, accommodating, and above all silent. That’s why art is so crucial (and the play notes the terrible cutbacks in arts education), to help us make sense of our experience, to question authority and established narratives, and to give us an expressive outlet.

Daz Gale , All That Dazzles : I could keep harping on at length about how clever every parallel, comparison and allegory is, but the result would be a review longer than the play itself. Rarely have I seen a piece with so much depth to it - no reference, however seemingly inconsequential, is there without reason, each serving a key purpose. It takes a gifted writer to take Lorde’s ‘Green Light’ and ensure the audience never listens to that song in the same way again, but that is exactly what Belflower has done in her writing, making a key interpretative dance scene all the more compelling.

Anna Nichols, West End Best Friend: Although important social themes are explored, the cast bring a lightness and joy to their characters that beautifully encapsulates the messy, imperfect experience of being human. John Proctor is the Villain is a moving, heartfelt, and hilarious piece of theatre that spills over the boundaries of make believe and into the complex real life of what it means to be human.

Liam O'Dell, Liam O'Dell.com: Belflower’s script unlocks brilliantly when the updated interpretation in 2018 (the year in which this production is set) is revealed as the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, and it becomes a fascinating and wide-ranging look at accountability – from the woman’s fact versus the man’s fictional (or amorphous) reputation; to how to view mistakes in isolation; listening authentically; performative feminism and being emotional unashamedly.

Average Rating: 88.6%