Arthur Miller’s An
Enemy Of The People, based on an 1882 play of the same name by Norwegian
playwright Henrik Ibsen, was written in 1950 and is contemporaneous with his
best known work The Crucible. It’s a
play where the public, politicians and the press clash catastrophically, each
spinning their own version of the truth be it for money, political power, or the
honourable truth.
Sound familiar? Miller may have had McCarthyism in his
sights, but An Enemy Of The People seems
remarkably prescient to present day America – all Trumpian bombast and fake
news.
Director Phil Willmott certainly thinks so, with Miller’s
play leading the new Enemies of the People season at the Union Theatre. It translates
elegantly to present day with little fuss or need for tweaking, Miller’s
language already sounding all too relatable to our modern ears. It is the story
of a local doctor in smalltown America who discovers the local water supply is
poisoned, scuppering plans for the new springs resort and potentially damaging
government reputation. Yet rather than taking his advice, the local mayor (also
the doctor’s sibling) pits him against the public and threatens to raise taxes
to pay for water sanitation. The editor of the local newspaper, meanwhile, is
stuck between them both with only money and circulation on his mind.
In this production, with its sparse staging of a
construction site, the twisting of the truth has obvious parallels with the notion
of fake news. The play becomes something of an absurd comedy, full of over the
top American caricatures; but one that’s tragically close to reality. This is
America in microcosm, albeit one that lacks in diversity. One welcome update is
the switch to a female mayor, played by Mary Stewart as a nightmarish amalgam
of Sarah Palin and Trump, with all the smarm you can imagine. That aside, this
is a fairly straightforward interpretation that simply shifts the setting to
increase the play’s modern relevance.
It’s a clever interpretation, then, but one that’s not
always well executed. As a whole the staging seems restless, with too many
characters pacing, arguing, or delivering their lines to the back of the stage
(plus some dodgy accents). It certainly reflects the whirlwind of clashing
ideals and the difficulty in being heard above the noise (literally). But it
also lacks focus and clarity. As a result we side with none of these
shamelessly desperate people – not the selfish, backstabbing mayor; the sleazy
newspaper editor; nor even the noble doctor, who’s such a martyr for the truth he
commits himself and his family to a life of persecution. After a first half that drags, in the second the
doctor (David Mildon) gives a supposedly rousing and thought-provoking speech criticising
the true nature of democracy, but it’s lost in the hubbub of debate. This
painting characters in shades of grey is likely intentional, but it does make
for a frustrating drama lacking in necessary punch.
It’s Emily Byrt as the doctor’s wife who stands out as a
voice of reason – despite having few lines, she mostly stands still to deliver
her lines with a commanding presence. It’s she who speaks the line at the core
of the play: “without power, what good is truth?”. Here, the characters in
Miller’s play wrestle so much with power that the truth is lost in a chaotic
production that reflects the messiness of modern politics.
3/5
Watch: An Enemy Of The
People runs at the Union Theatre until the 2nd February.
Photos: Scott Rylander
