Miya James and Sadie Soverall in John Proctor is the Villain [Camilla Greenwell]

CONTINUING the Royal Court’s 70th anniversary season, Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor Is the Villain begins as a story about female friendship before moving into darker terrain.

Set in 2018 in a high school in small-town Georgia where everyone knows each other’s business, the #MeToo movement is in the news and gathering momentum.

The English class is studying Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, led by Carter Smith (Dónal Finn), their charismatic, well-liked teacher, who’s cool and genuinely passionate about his subject.

When some of the girls decide to start a feminism club, their counsellor Bailey (Molly McFadden) is concerned the timing isn’t right. Carter helps by suggesting they reframe it as a literature group tied to reading Miller’s American classic.

As the students debate whether John Proctor is really a “hero”, the group’s dynamics are revealed. Beth (Holly Hoden Gilchrist), bookish and “an old soul”, is often the ringleader. Raelynn (Miya James) is mad at her former best friend Shelby (Sadie Soverall), who slept with her boyfriend Lee (Charlie Borg) then disappeared without a word.

Ivy (Clare Hughes) is tearful, trying to shake off a scandal involving her father. And Nell (Lauryn Ajufo), the new girl from Atlanta, desperate to fit in, is thrilled when classmate Mason (Reece Braddock) finally notices her.

It takes a short while to adjust to the cast’s accents and projection – three of them are making their professional stage debuts – but once Shelby returns to school and causes ructions, the drama ignites.

Belflower’s take on modern teenagers and the social and generational shifts that reframe our interpretation of classic texts is astute.

Danya Taymor’s direction is perceptive and, as the tension builds, the cast are electric – especially Soverall and James. When their energy erupts into a furious dance, it serves as a powerful expression of their emotions.

Until April 25
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