{"id":5027,"date":"2015-09-10T12:50:43","date_gmt":"2015-09-10T11:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=5027"},"modified":"2016-02-05T19:14:31","modified_gmt":"2016-02-05T18:14:31","slug":"interview-with-rachel-redford-the-crucible-royal-exchange-by-jon-greenaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=5027","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Rachel Redford, The Crucible<\/em>, The Royal Exchange, by Jon Greenaway"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Caroline Steinbeis bringing a new production of \u2018The Crucible\u2019 to the Royal Exchange Theatre in the centenary year of Arthur Miller\u2019s birth, The Manchester Review took the chance to talk to Rachel Redford, up and coming actor and RADA 2013 graduate about her role in the play, dealing with a character who is \u201cso hated\u201d and what audiences should expect fr<\/i><\/strong>om the show itself.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

It is a break between rehearsals, but over the phone, Rachel Redford sounds anything but tired \u2013 something of a surprise considering just how busy the last few weeks must have been \u2013 to say nothing of the last few years. From Penarth, Rachel originally wanted to be a dancer but encouraged by her mother, (herself a former actor) became increasingly drawn to pursing drama. \u201cMum told me to go to RADA, I applied and got in!\u201d What followed was three \u201cdeeply challenging years\u201d of maturing, developing and learning \u201cas a person and as a performer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following graduation with roles in Lone Scherfig\u2019s \u2018The Riot Club\u2019 and James Kent\u2019s \u2018Testament of Youth\u2019 as well as impressive work at the Donmar and Redford is well on the way to building an impressive early career. Her aims seem refreshingly grounded as her two big concerns when I bring this up are to \u2018keep enjoying what I\u2019m doing\u2019 and be able work towards a sense of financial security \u2013 (what recent graduate wouldn\u2019t agree with that!)<\/p>\n

From an artistic point of view, there is something potentially quite risky about a production of \u201cThe Crucible.\u201d Arthur Miller\u2019s 1953 play has been a fixture of GCSE, A-Level and undergraduate reading courses so any new production has to find a way of engaging audiences afresh. All too often, the play can be reduced to a series of somewhat static moral gestures, with Abigail the scheming young woman, Proctor the man of integrity and religion the source of all the hysteria and rumour. It\u2019s a risk that Redford seems well attuned to \u2013 The Crucible <\/i>was one of the first plays she read at the age of thirteen and thus there comes not just the professional pressures but a deep \u2018personal pressure\u2019 of taking on a character who is \u2018so hated.\u2019 Abigail, as a character does so much that is \u2018morally corrupt, but she justifies her herself\u2019 and thus, as an actor, the key challenge is to find the justification, find that believability.\u2019 Abigail is \u2018so hated\u2019 but Redford makes the intriguing point that for her, Abigail treats The Crucible<\/i> \u2018as an act of love\u2026the only way they [Abigail and John Proctor] can be together.\u2019<\/p>\n

There are a few details of the play that tend to be glossed over too \u2013 the strict patriarchal nature of the Puritan society means that it is men who dominate the power structures, the law, the clergy and the body politic of the community more generally. In this kind of society Redford points out, women are \u2018extremely oppressed\u2019 and cannot wield the same kind of power that men possesses. The female power of the play is \u2018enticing and seductive\u2019 so the \u2018girls use this as an opportunity to attempt to overthrow things.\u2019<\/p>\n

It is in the interpersonal relationships that the play really does come alive, as Redford puts it, \u2018underneath the politics, the relationships are very real.\u2019 What strikes me is Redford\u2019s acknowledgement of something that all too often is ignored in favour of the political issues \u2013 a deep-seated sexual hypocrisy. John Proctor is twenty years older than Abigail is and takes her virginity whilst denying the reality of what he did. \u2018Proctor should have known better\u2019 is Redford\u2019s conclusion. While that does not excuse Abigail, her reaction is a \u2018very teenage reaction\u2019 and thus, in a way, infinitely more understandable.<\/p>\n

Whereas Abigail and the society depicted in the play fail to grasp the often-violent power of sexuality and desire today, Redford claims \u2018we\u2019ve become numb to it.\u2019 The play opens with the girls dancing in the woods \u2013 something seen as a harmless anachronism to the modern viewer but is something that the community reacts to with visceral shock. Redford tells me that the cast struggled to think of something that would illicit the same kind of shocked reaction today \u2013 what expression of teenage sexuality would jolt us in the same way? \u2018Sex in public was the best we could come up with\u2019 Redford says \u2013 \u2018that was how far we had to go.\u2019<\/p>\n

Such instances do occur though, and it is in our modern societal reaction to them that we see something else that still resonates with The Crucible<\/i> \u2013 namely, the reaction to the event. In the age of social media, where scandal can be whipped up in no time at all and all of uscan become global spectators of the humiliation or embarrassment of the individual The Crucible <\/i>serves as a powerful reminder of the human cost such digital voyeurism can exert. In this play, \u2018everyone follows everyone else\u2019s movements\u2019 and there is a combination of voyeurism, fear but also a dangerous kind of pleasure, \u2018just look at the Putnam\u2019s! That\u2019s exactly why they get involved!\u2019 Rachel exclaims \u2013 the play is about how things can spread from Salem village to the town, and how threatening gossip, speculation and entertainment can become.<\/p>\n

Our conversation ends and I ask Rachel (who has another eight hours of rehearsals to get back to) what people should expect when they come to see the see the show. The excitement in her voice swings up a notch, \u2018It\u2019s epic, brutal and ugly. This isn\u2019t a nice production, a sanitised production \u2013 it\u2019s honest, sexual, loving and angry.\u2019 Ultimately, Rachel finishes by telling me that the show is about \u2018a group of people, trying to survive. And failing.\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jon Greenaway<\/p>\n

The crucible will be at the Royal Exchange from 18\/09 till 24\/10 at the Royal Exchange theatre. For tickets (including \u00a36 tickets for students and those under 26)please go to http:\/\/www.royalexchange.co.uk\/under-26s-students<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Caroline Steinbeis bringing a new production of \u2018The Crucible\u2019 to the Royal Exchange Theatre in the centenary year of Arthur Miller\u2019s birth, The Manchester Review took the chance to talk to Rachel Redford, up and coming actor and RADA 2013 graduate about her role in the play, dealing with a character who is \u201cso […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[283,17],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nInterview with Rachel Redford, The Crucible, The Royal Exchange, by Jon Greenaway - The Manchester Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=5027\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interview with Rachel Redford, The Crucible, The Royal Exchange, by Jon Greenaway - The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With Caroline Steinbeis bringing a new production of \u2018The Crucible\u2019 to the Royal Exchange Theatre in the centenary year of Arthur Miller\u2019s birth, The Manchester Review took the chance to talk to Rachel Redford, up and coming actor and RADA 2013 graduate about her role in the play, dealing with a character who is \u201cso […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=5027\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-10T11:50:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-02-05T18:14:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Manchester Review\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=5027\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=5027\",\"name\":\"Interview with Rachel Redford, The Crucible, The Royal Exchange, by Jon Greenaway - The Manchester Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-10T11:50:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-05T18:14:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/e6deb0374609919f6e86f6ee1defe8cc\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=5027#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=5027\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=5027#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Interview with Rachel Redford, The Crucible, The Royal Exchange, by Jon Greenaway\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Manchester Review\",\"description\":\"The Manchester Review\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/e6deb0374609919f6e86f6ee1defe8cc\",\"name\":\"The Manchester Review\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif\",\"caption\":\"The Manchester Review\"},\"description\":\"The Manchester Review was founded in 2008 and is published by the Centre for New Writing at The University of Manchester. 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