By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
When veteran director Yun Ho-jin first tried to put on stage Arthur Miller’s ``The Crucible’’ in 1979, his intention was to bring the military regime of the day into the spotlight through theatrical performance, just as Miller had attempted to satirize McCarthyism in 1953.
But Yun failed to do so under the political turmoil in which former President Park Chung-hee was assassinated, followed by the military coup by former general-turned-president Chun Doo-hwan.
Twenty-eight years later, his abortive production has finally borne fruit. Yun chose ``The Crucible’’ to return to the play form after 15 years of directing musicals including the famous blockbuster musical ``The Last Empress.’’
It looks like an ideal time for a comeback in that local theater seems to have long lost ground as a means to enlighten audiences.
The drama runs for three and half hours in four acts, but was never loose in plots and composition supported by the excellent performances of veteran actors and actresses.
The play is based on a real story which involved ``witch hunting'' in the small puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.
Miller portrays the event as an allegory for the McCarthyism that swept the U.S. in the wake of World War II, which was full of the madness of citizens suffering confusion in that politically turbulent period. McCarthyism refers to a period of intense anti-Communist suspicion in the U.S., and was named after U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Republican of Wisconsin.
``The Crucible’’ illustrates how a rumor of witchcraft spreads after a group of girls are believed to be suffering some strange illness after some rather innocent dancing and singing in the woods.
The illness is blamed on witchcraft and the town is suddenly swept up into a frenzy of witchcraft accusations and the arrest of hundreds of innocent citizens.
The court forces those accused to confess to save their lives, but John Proctor, a Salem farmer and man of strong faith, appeals to the court to investigate the happenings which he believes to have got out of hand and in the meantime his wife also gets accused.
Most confess to the false testimony to save their lives and those who don’t are either tortured or hanged including Proctor.
During the three-and-half hour drama, the stage is amassed with energy and the strong acting of veteran actors and actresses.
Although the political context is somewhat different, the essential message of the drama is still valid for audiences.
Despite simple stage settings and decor, the play holds audiences from beginning to end. The trials and accusations are like strong burning fire, testing and separating the people of the town. Some remain loyal to their personal integrity and keep their names intact.
The play has a timeless message that finds relevance in our society which stands at a crossroads in which individual conscience is often tarnished by the anonymity of the Internet and social tyranny is represented by technology and a money-centered hegemony.
Many of the people who make accusations and confessions in the play have to choose to act rationally to keep themselves safe.
In that sense, the play is not only a play for 1950s Americans, nor Koreans in the late 1970s. But it’s for people turning their backs against justice, reflecting our times in which diversity is superficially allowed, but individual conscience is ignored at the expense of a faceless anonymous majority in this Internet-based society.
Fearlessly standing against lies, bullying and hypocrisy, Kim Myong-soo gives an authentic performance of Proctor, making the actions of his role more impressive and making him the hero of the play.
``The Crucible'’’ follows the original script, which was translated by Kim Yun-cheol, theater critic and professor of the Korean National University of Arts.
The play, which is presented by the Seoul Arts Center, will run through April 29. Tickets cost from 15,000 to 35,000 won. For more information, call (02) 580-1300 and 1588-7890.