The Girls

Some of the many unanswerable questions raised by The Crucible circle around those nocturnal events in the Salem woods. Why were some of the children meeting secretly in the woods at night and doing things that they must have known, were they discovered, would result in severe punishment? We learn that Abigail was using the Parris’s maid Tituba to attempt to cast a death spell over the wife of her lover, John Proctor. What we don’t know is whether this gathering was a one-off event, or part of a deliberate and planned pattern of defiance by the young. There was nakedness and dancing (both strictly forbidden) but was the former the sole reason no boys were present?

Actor Leah Muller, who plays Abigail, believes that her character's behaviour throughout the play is a result of the repressive society she lives in. Abigail is the leader of the group of girls, and there are many layers to her character which make it a challenging part to play. Her sidekick, Mercy Lewis, is a less attractive girl who is constantly trying to impress Abigail, and who doesn't initially see the seriousness of the girls' accusations until people start being condemned. The mass hysteria that erupts is powerful, and draws in weak girls like Mary Warren and young Betty Parris, who is naive and scared of witchcraft. Each of the girls has a distinct personality, and the actors did a range of exercises to develop their characters, from writing biographies from their character’s perspective to observing children and how they behave.