Operation Crucible – Outstanding

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Alix Cohen in Playing Around

Sheffield, England 1940. Boon companions Bob (Salvatore D’Aquila), Tommy (Kieran Knowles), Phil (Christopher McCurry) and Andrew (James Wallwork) work and sweat in one of eight of the city’s steel and ironworks now making artillery – the only place in the UK manufacturing 18” armor-piercing shells. If it’s made of steel, it’s made here. “The name Sheffield is printed on every one of us…In black and white…Aye.”

“We were a team…Your hearts beat as one…Your breath fell in and out at the same time…” BOB: One, open door. TOMMY: Two grab! ARTHUR: Secure! TOMMY: Pull it out! Movement is sharp and synchronized as the men labor, calling out:  BOB: One grab hammer! PHIL: Two grab tongues – hold steel in place and… BOB: Bang, Bang! PHIL: Turn! BOB: Bang, Bang! PHIL: Turn…Heat and force are palpable. Direction terrific.

Kieran Knowles, Christopher McCurry, Salvatore D’Aquilla, James Wallwork

The young men were introduced to mill work as children by fathers who exuded satisfaction and pride. “Here’s where I work. Watch yourself. Got to be attentive to work here, lots going on, lots of danger…” Starting in their teens, they knew nothing else, aspired to nothing else. Flats were Spartan, squalid. An occasional dance, lunchtime cards, and football buoyed.

“You could hear the planes at night over it…” Intermittent sounds of war are immensely evocative, beginning in the distance, building to explosions that rock the theater… succeeded by impressions of falling debris we can almost see. (Sound Design-Daniel Foxsmith) “You’d think it were bad, wartime, but we were richer…” Richer meant being able to afford a precious orange on the rare occasion a green grocer had them.

Kieran Knowles, James Wallwork, (back) Salvatore D’Aquilla, Christopher McCurry

We learn about Bob, Tommy, Phil, and Andrew both in monologues and stories told with each continuing his fellow’s sentences. Rhythm is paramount. There are character and situational differences, of course, but what’s shared pervades. It’s a well rounded picture.

“GO HOME! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! (We infer the mill has no shelter.) It’s December 12. The Sheffield Blitz began just as the moon was waxing full. Moving as one, the men take off, but outpaced by planes, shelter must be found before reaching loved ones. Musicians are still playing at the ritzy Marples Hotel in Fitzalan Square when they tear in. Panic. Just before the building is repeatedly hit, reduced in fact to a pile of rubble, the four find refuge in a cellar that will remain the only section not totaled.

Here we find them, wounded but alive, in light (remembering) and dark (coping) as they pray for rescue. (Subtle Lighting Design by Seth Rook Williams.) “I weren’t one for thinking about death, but…” “I couldn’t find God…” It’s very real. As is the aftermath.

Salvatore D’Aquilla, Kieran Knowles, Christopher McCurry, James Wallwork

Playwright Kieran Knowles puts us in place, time, tenor, and horrific incident with imagination and muscularity, yet never goes overboard. It’s impossible not to assume his personal connection to Yorkshire steelmakers and wartime experience. Detail is marvelous.

There’s not a weak link in this compelling ensemble. Every actor pulls his weight with respect to his peers. Focus is complete; timing impeccable, physicality redolent. Yorkshire accents are made clear. (actual ones can be unintelligible.)

Director Bryony Shanahan helms the piece with creativity, power, and adroit minimalism that might elicit this cast declaring “Oh Captain! My Captain!”  (Walt Whitman)

Sophia Simensky’s Set and Costume Design is pitch perfect.

A compelling theatrical experience. Beautifully produced.

On the nights of December 12 and 15, 1940, the German Luftwaffe bombed Sheffield, England. 660 people were killed, 1,500 injured and 40,000 made homeless. 3,000 homes were demolished with 3,000 badly damaged.

Crucible

  1. A ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures.
  2. A situation of severe trial, or in which different elements interact, leading to the creation of something new
  3. The German name for the Sheffield Blitz: Schmelztiegel (“Crucible”).

Photos by Carol Rosegg
Opening: Salvatore D’Aquilla, James Wallwork, Christopher McCurry, Kieran Knowles

Operation Crucible by Kieran Knowles
Directed by Bryony Shanahan
59E59 Theaters
Though June 3, 2018

About Alix Cohen (1872 Articles)
Alix Cohen is the recipient of ten New York Press Club Awards for work published on this venue. Her writing history began with poetry, segued into lyrics and took a commercial detour while holding executive positions in product development, merchandising, and design. A cultural sponge, she now turns her diverse personal and professional background to authoring pieces about culture/the arts with particular interest in artists/performers and entrepreneurs. Theater, music, art/design are lifelong areas of study and passion. She is a voting member of Drama Desk and Drama League. Alix’s professional experience in women’s fashion fuels writing in that area. Besides Woman Around Town, the journalist writes for Cabaret Scenes, Broadway World, TheaterLife, and Theater Pizzazz. Additional pieces have been published by The New York Post, The National Observer’s Playground Magazine, Pasadena Magazine, Times Square Chronicles, and ifashionnetwork. She lives in Manhattan. Of course.

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