REVIEW: The Good John Proctor by Talene Monahan at Jermyn Street (Footprints Festival), 10 - 27 January 2023



‘a slow simmer with a payoff at the end’ ★★★★

The Crucible is one of the first plays I remember seeing: it is a play that stays with you but is hard to watch. This prequel, taking its name from one of the main characters, is an interesting meld of the modern and the classic story, and is nothing if not surprising, despite how much the original play is well known.

Abigail (Anna Fordham)and Betty (Sabrina Wu), 12- and 10-year-old cousins share a bed and stories of their dreams every night. Through them, we also meet Mercy Lewis (Amber Sylvia Edwards) and Mary Warren (Lydia Larson), who become central to the growing hysteria about all things wicked and Satanic. Wu is especially able to take on the role of a child remarkably well, with her bursts of delight and exuberance.

These are the only characters we see, though others (including the eponymous John Proctor) are mentioned. They make a believable cast who play their roles as children, and though the story takes a (long) while to tighten the dramatic tension (it’s a very slow simmer), it does give a payoff at the end.

At times, it seems a bit outlandish to believe the children’s language (full of modern phrases and expletives) which felt anachronistic, but also fresh, among the works that have developed from Arthur Miller’s seminal text. It is not clear to me whether it travels well across the pond, and whether UK audiences would appreciate some of the details brought by Monahan into this version of how so many could end up accused of being witches in a small part of the northeast of the US.

The staging, and simplicity of the costumes, bedding, and furniture, bring the viewer to an earlier time, perhaps unlike the words spoken, and there is a wonderful eeriness to the lighting and sound design.

By the end, you realise a couple of things: the intricate connection between this play and the Miller classic, but also that, much like mobsters being imprisoned for tax evasion, not all evil that is punished is the actual evil enacted.

Photographs by Jack Sain

The Good John Proctor by Talene Monahan at Jermyn Street (Footprints Festival), 10 - 27 January 2023

Box Office https://www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk/show/the-good-john-proctor/

Written by Talene Monahon

Performed by Anna Fordham, Sabrina Wu, Lydia Larson, Amber Sylvia Edwards

Directed by Anna Ryder

Designer: Natalie Johnson

Lighting Designer: Laura Howard

Sound Designer: Bella Kear

Reviewed by Mariam Mathew