Review Roundup: What Did the Critics Think of THE CRUCIBLE, Starring Milly Alcock?

The National Theatre’s acclaimed new production of The Crucible has now opened in the West End for a strictly limited season. Featuring Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) as Abigail Williams, Caitlin Fitzgerald (Masters of Sex) as Elizabeth Proctor, and Brian Gleeson (Bad Sisters) as John Proctor.

Olivier Award-winner Lyndsey Turner directs this electrifying new production with set design by Es Devlin of Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, a gripping parable of power and its abuse.

What did the critics think?

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Abbie Grundy, BroadwayWorld: It is the staging, with set design from Es Devlin and lighting design from Tim Lutkin, that steals the show. From a sheet of rain falling to the ground to tilted staging, they create an on-stage world that is insular, remote, and claustrophobic - i.e., the perfect storm for hysteria to take root. It's hard not to be instantly swayed by this staging - and many audience members gasp upon entering the space - however, the production manages to match this weight. 

Daniella Harrison, WhatsOnStage: Interestingly, this remounting seems to garner more laughs than in its outing at the National. The opening scene, in particular, has a touch of sitcom about it as the townsfolk argue about land and lumber (Hale’s quip that his books are “weighted with authority” is the stuff of Netflix screenshots). But Turner ensures that the production does not become farcical. Instead, with the cast’s faces in shadows (Tim Lutkin’s light design is stunning work), we see how these arguments slide into dangerous and terrifying territory. While Miller wrote this play as an allegory for McCarthyism, it goes without saying that it still stands the test of time and is as applicable today.

Clive Davis, The Times: It’s the actors in the supporting roles who really catch the eye. Karl Johnson, back as the litigious Giles Corey, is all half-suppressed indignation, while Matthew Marsh, as Deputy Governor Danforth, who arrives to apply his unbending vision of biblical justice, captures the zealotry of the true believer who knows every rule, every statute.

Nick Curtis, Evening Standard: Lyndsey Turner’s stirring production and Es Devlin’s claustrophobically narrowing set somehow sit better in the Gielgud than the National. The religious keening, rising to a shriek or a yell, from the young girls accusing their elders of satanism, hits harder. Above all, this now seems an acute study of the way dishonesty poisons public discourse, so that even those who have been duped end up perpetuating a lie. I liked it at the National. Now it seems nigh-on perfect.

Dave Fargnoli, The Stage: Milly Alcock is strong as young ringleader Abigail. She is a dangerously febrile presence, ambiguous expressions racing across her face as she plunges headlong into the catastrophe she’s set in motion. Nia Towle is likewise compelling as Mary Warren, the former accuser who tries, too late, to recant. Towle captures every painful twist of conscience, shuddering with anxiety as she struggles to decide which side she’s on.

The Crucible is at the Gielgud Theatre until 2 September 

Photo Credit: Brinkhoff Moegenburg

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