If the theatre scene in Boorloo was food the prominent restaurants would serve tapas. A table full of tasty treats with sample serving sizes on the cluster of plates in front of you. A small team of creatives presenting their own recipes. And then there’s the musical theatre that inevitably ends up touring at Crown, whatever plate equivalent that is. Big touring casts playing the classics. At the risk of downplaying it, comparable to when your parents would take you to Maccas as a kid. Or your grandparents taking you to the shopping centre cafe for a hot choccy. But from the kids perspective. That nostalgic feeling of something familiar and culturally entrenched.
Curtin University’s theatre arts department provides offerings somewhere in between. A medium sized cast presenting an eminent play. Someone else wrote the recipe and it’s not one you’d try to recreate at home if you weren’t into cooking. Everyone appreciates that cook in their life who brings people together to enjoy something they mightn’t otherwise have eaten.
The Crucible was their latest offering, a 20th century American play set during the Salem witch trials. Seen through the lens of political persecution, the allegorical nature allows it to endure as it can be applied to whichever context is contemporary.
In the midst of a witch trial, the opening scenes quickly establish characters to get you up to speed before the heat turns up. Once you get an idea of who’s who, the next scene brings curious prop choices as chairs line the sides of the stage and people pass props forward as needed. With domestic scenes unravelling in private homes, the actors on the side are effectively props in these moments. As the tension builds and the accusations escalate, the seats end up being filled with seemingly the entire cast. Silently watching, like us in the audience. It’s a clever cue to the small town politics of it all. Everyone is watching, even behind closed doors.
The ensemble understood the assignment, drawing on their collective presence to drive the tension at the right moments, then giving the dust a chance to settle in order to give the next inevitable ascension comparative substance.
Chemistry between actors is a common remark, but I find myself noticing chemistry between lighting and set design. This was one of those times where their outputs resulted in a beautiful marriage.
These are the kind of shows for the people who want to see the theatre nerd classics, rather than the mainstream classics abundant at the bigger venues.