The Tab Previews The Crucible

The news and Twitter are currently awash with the names of politicians and members of the peerage alleged to be paedophiles, and this week David Cameron expressed his fears that the accusations are mounting towards being a ‘witch hunt’.

Therefore it seems potent that this week UEA Drama Society are staging a production of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’, which documents the events from which the term ‘witch hunt’ were coined.

Director, 2^nd Year History student Cameron Tucker is something of a thespian when it comes to UEA Drama, but this term he has made his directorial debut. The Tab caught up with him to chat about this week’s production.

Cameron, for those who don’t know, could you give us a brief synopsis of ‘The Crucible’?

‘The Crucible’ was written by Arthur Miller in 1953, and it’s really an allegory for McCarthyism which was the hunt for Communists in America in the 1950s.

No one was safe- fingers were being pointed everywhere, and Miller decided to use the events of the 1692 Salem Witch trials to show how history repeats itself.

It’s a dramatization of the trials, where many members of Salem society were accused of witchcraft, so there’s an immense sense of distrust and an undercurrent of hysteria running through the piece.

You’ve acted in a lot of plays for UEA Drama, why have you decided to transfer your talents to directing ‘The Crucible’?

I think I have short man syndrome! No, really, directing is a huge challenge. I’ve been lucky enough to have been directed by some really calm, composed directors at UEA and I wanted to emulate that. It’s physically and mentally draining, but so enjoyable. I hope I’ve helped inspire the first years in the production to really throw themselves into drama whilst at UEA.

You study history, not drama. How has your degree enabled you to create your own interpretation of the piece?

Well, all UEA historians take a module in witchcraft in the first year and we did study the Salem witch trials. I feel like it allowed me to take a really analytical and thorough approach to the piece.

In addition, we at UEA are lucky to have Professor Malcolm Gaskill, one of the country’s leading witchcraft historians. He came to talk to the cast and helped them each see their characters in a different light.

People don’t realize that the Salem Witch Trials were absolutely unprecedented in history- nothing on that scale had ever been seen before. We’ve tried to be as historically accurate in terms of set and costume as possible too.

‘The Crucible’ is such an iconic piece- what were the challenges you faced in rehearsals?

I’m so lucky to have directed such a talented and fun cast. I was worried that rehearsals would be like listening to an Adele track for weeks but to say this is an incredibly harrowing piece, we’ve had a lot of laughs.

Having said that, the script can be a challenge. It’s 17^th Century English, so some of the turns of phrase were a bit tricky to master.

Each member of the cast has put so much effort into understanding the script, and they’ve produced some really multi-layered performances in rehearsals.

Why should UEA students come to see ‘The Crucible’?

Like I mentioned earlier, all first year history students do a module on witchcraft in Semester 2 so it’d be a good introduction for them! We have such a large and varied cast, and this is reflected in the talents that each of them bring.

UEA Drama Soc is not limited to Drama Students, we have a PhD student in ‘The Crucible’, as well as students from many different schools in many different years. Come and support your fellow students!

Finally, what do you want your audience to take away from your interpretation of ‘The Crucible’?

I’d like them to come away with a sense of infuriation and frustration. The world the characters in ‘The Crucible’ inhabit is one which everything is viewed in black or white, and Arthur Miller shows how this viewpoint moves through history. I’d like them to question what they’ve seen, what it means- but more than anything, I just hope they really enjoy the piece.

‘The Crucible’ is being performed in the UEA Drama Studio on 15^th, 16^th and 17^th of November. Tickets are available from the UEA Box Office.