Empathy for the young women of Salem

“… in a post-#MeToo Canada, how do we receive this play that warns us of the dangers of believing a group of young girls who say they’ve been abused and manipulated? Contemporary audiences may have unprecedented empathy for the young women of Salem, grasping their first tastes of power and agency even when it careens out of their control — in particular, ringleader Abigail Williams (Katelyn McCulloch), whose sexuality poses the biggest threat to the moral code in Miller’s Salem…

Goad points a condemning finger toward forces beyond this group of young women, who are constantly handled by older men — they grab their arms, squeeze their mouths, press down on their necks in this extremely physical production. And even in their rebellion, there’s warmth and solidarity among the girls; when Abigail is called a whore and humiliated in public by the man who broke her heart, they all cry. It’s a final reminder of their oppressive situation, despite the power they feel.”