Written by Rebecca McNamee. Sydney Theatre Co, Wharf 2 Theatre. 23-26 Apr, 2025.
This kick-ass, 50-minute prequel-of-sorts to The Crucible gives Arthur Miller’s dissembling teen leader a compelling backstory—and even more compelling staging. It provides context but does not excuse her deadly actions.
In Rebecca McNamee’s play, orphan Abigail Williams (Ebony Tucker) tells her own story, from life with her hateful uncle to going to work for the Proctors, helping to wean their newborn while new mother Elizabeth “Goodie” Proctor suffers from apparent post-natal depression. While there, 17-year-old Abigail finds herself attracted to the stoic, thirty-something farmer John Proctor, and the two begin a sexual relationship marked by an uneven power dynamic. When he eventually rejects Abigail, the teenager is confused and furious.
Ebony Tucker is outstanding as Abigail in this brilliantly staged one-woman, one-act play. On the nearly bare Wharf 2 Theatre stage, she begins shrouded in darkness, a single noose hanging from the ceiling under a spotlight. As the story progresses, Tucker removes layer upon layer of her restrictive costume, using the pieces as props and set-dressing to lay out a pictorial roadmap of her life. She is never less than thoroughly engaging as she monologues her frustrations, her desires, and her anger.
Directed by writer McNamee, there’s a clear elegance to Abigail Williams that seduces you. The simplicity of the staging (designed by Angelina Daniel) is so pointed in its clarity, and often filled with dark humour, that it makes for a remarkable economy of storytelling. The sound design by Keelan Ellis and Madeleine Picard provides an immersive soundtrack (the sound system in this space is brilliant and used to full cinema-like effect). Similarly, the lighting by Chris Milburn and Chaii-Ki Chapman transforms the inky black space into a lively environment filled with secrets.
McNamee’s writing is beautiful—both in its use of language and in the theatrical moments she’s created. A mid-play sidebar, discussing a contemporary situation of sexual power imbalance much like that between Williams and Proctor, anchors the story in real people and real consequences.
The Crucible, that HSC syllabus classic and revered part of the American theatrical canon, is getting quite the exploration these days. While here in Sydney we’ve got this intimate and immaculate Abigail Williams, on Broadway right now the play John Proctor is the Villain is getting rave reviews. Which begs the question: why is there this desire to re-examine these characters?
Do we need to redress the history presented in The Crucible? While based on real people, all the personal relationships are fictional (the real Abigail Williams was a 12-year-old, and there’s no suggestion of sexual relationships). Miller’s 17-year-old version of Williams is simply drawn to drive the plot; her ultimate thoughts and motivations are never revealed, while Proctor is the flawed lead. But there’s no suggestion that Proctor’s sexual relationship with Williams is anything other than deeply wrong—both for the adultery and the way Proctor clearly took advantage of the teenage girl. John Proctor may be the protagonist of The Crucible, but he is not—and never has been—a “hero”. We admire his final actions for their self-sacrifice and nobility, knowing that his own past has cost him dearly, but we do not give him a free pass.
Abigail Williams herself, meanwhile… While we might forgive the historical 12-year-old for getting caught up in hysteria and being manipulated by the adults around her, by ageing her up to 17, Miller gives her much more agency—and thus much more culpability. After watching this backstory, do I feel more enlightened or sympathetic to her plight? Or do I think less of Proctor? Not particularly. Everything presented here I got from Miller’s play. Just as Proctor is not presented as a hero, Williams has never been presented as a villain. Both are better written than that.
But as much as I don’t connect with its central premise, that doesn’t detract from the fact this is damn good theatre. Terrific script, terrific staging, and a powerful performance kept me completely ‘lean-in’ engaged in the story. Abigail Williams is well worth exploring.
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