Until you have a chance to read Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible prior to the talented dramatic British actor Richard Armitage portraying John Proctor [above right in my mock wallpaper, RA image courtesy of RANet] in the Old Vic Theatre’s production of The Crucible from June 21 to September 13, 2014 [my cap above left], here is a link for a Cliff’s Notes synopsis of the plot:
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-crucible/play-summary
Warning! There are major spoilers in this synopsis–apart from this being another character named John for Richard Armitage, the John Proctor character shares another unfortunate plot trait with several of Richard Armitage’s previous characters’ fates. And Richard Armitage conveys the emotions of despair and hopelessness so poignantly, so authentically, that we will feel John Proctor’s pain and torment, too. Sighhhh!
However a second thought comes to mind. With the acclaimed South African born Yael 
Farber (image right) directing The Crucible for The Old Vic, she is sure to put her spin on the play–as she did with Strindberg’s Miss Julie becoming a contemporized primer on power and privilege in the award winning Mies Julie set in post apartheid South Africa (production still below):
So, will The Old Vic’s The Crucible be word for word Arthur Miller with perhaps a nod to modern issues? Or will Ms. Farber create another “adaptation” and give the play a full on contemporary context/spin with an echo to Miller’s work? Or will the play be somewhere in between? With any of these scenarios, I think The Crucible production will be fascinating to experience.
Oooh! Now I really want to get over my fear of flying and win the lottery to see Richard Armitage in The Crucible in London in Summer 2014. Ha! Life is about choices and opportunities–and where they intersect. Hmmm. Not unlike John Proctor’s predicament in The Crucible.
P.S. And I have to make a comment about Miss Julie and that playwright August Strindberg’s misguided solution for the heroine is for her to end her life–because the privilege she was born to as the daughter of a Count comes with chains of sexist and class oppression that she currently can’t figure out how to escape? Seriously dude? Your play sounds more like propaganda for the oppressors–by spreading fear and helplessness through emphasizing lack of agency–rather than a diatribe about class and gender oppression. *Grati shakes her head and steps off her soap box*
Something About Love (A) 
Grati, Yaël Farber adapted Strindberg’s Miss Julie, so she was the playwright for Mies Julie. That’s not the case here . The Old Vic’s advertising is using Arthur Miller’s name extensively in its advertising. So I think the script is going to be true either to the original, the film , since Arthur Miller adapted his own play when he wrote the screenplay, or a combination of both. How the director will make the play her own, and she will, is anyone’s guess – and I’ve been guessing a lot.
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Hi Perry,
The script remaining true to Arthur Miller is one possibility. As I state above, we’ll have to see where Ms. Farber takes the play. And yes, much guessing is involved. Ha!
I attended a play adaptation years ago that juxtaposed new scenes symbolizing oppression in Maoist China with the gender oppression in the Ibsen story A Doll’s House. It was certainly creative.
Cheers! Grati ;->
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For me, one of the classic examples of adaptations for other purposes is the play within the Movie, The King and I, when Anna mounts an stage adaptation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, to highlight the injustice of slavery under the King’s Rule.
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Good example!
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I hope that you will have the chance to see Richard on stage in London. :-)
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I would love to see RA perform in The Crucible, April!
But it doesn’t look likely. So my hubby and I made a donation to The Old Vic for their education programs. However, you’re closer to London than I am. So I hope that you get a chance to see him!
Cheers! Grati ;->
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Thanks Gratiana. :-)
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May 15, 2014–Thanks for liking this post!
saraobsessed, april73, LadyButterfly, and Servetus
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May 18, 2014–Here we go. This is what I’m talking about. Servetus ponders a sensual John Proctor character portrayal:
Well afterall, The Crucible has lust as one of its plot arcs. London is looking more enticing. *wink*
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Pingback: Thespian Thursday: Reblogging April’s Violet–“Richard Armitage dans The Crucible”, June 12, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #581) | Something About Love (A)
June 14, 2014–Ah! Now with the new The Crucible play posters with Richard Armitage as John Proctor shown in various poses–including a third poster with him bare chested from a view over his shoulders–we are getting a better sense of the framing/contextualizing of this work.
And I interpret having the actor for a character literally bare as possibly symbolizing more than the character being exposed, raw, or even vulnerable. I predict a possible exploration of the underlying sensuality as one of the central conflicts in the story–a married man has an affair, with disastrous consequences. I reflected upon that in my updated musings enhancing my post of my reblog of April’s Violet’s post about the first two posters:
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June 14, 2014–Perry at Armitage Agonistes (Thanks!) pointed me to an All Things Armitage (Thanks!) blog post with a cap of a Times article with The Crucible director Yael Farber stating that she is not “reframing” nor “recontexualising” Miller’s play–though there are sure to be riveting moments:
http://www.allthingsrarmitage.blogspot.com/2014/06/richard-armitage-look-in-rearview.html
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