ABSTRACT
In many respects radio is an ideal medium for concentrating upon Miller's richness of language and imagery. Working as a director for the BBC Radio Drama Department, I have in recent years recorded a number of the plays including All My Sons, The Crucible, and The Price, the last two with members of the Los Angeles based LA Classic Theatre Works. The Crucible was recorded in a tiny makeshift studio created in a corner of a huge Hollywood sound stage at Culver City, formerly home to such legendary movies as Gone With the Wind and Citizen Kane. The cast consisted of American film and TV stars, many with little experience of radio technique. It was fascinating to watch them adapt to a new challenge and succeed in recording the whole play within the alloted time of four and a half days. I was naturally pleased when I learnt that Miller had approved of the production; however, I was even more delighted when in 1986 I was asked to direct the world premiere of his previously unperformed play, The Golden Years. Written in 1939/40, when he was twenty-four, the play was Miller's response to events then sweeping Europe. As with The Crucible he had chosen an historical setting to highlight a contemporary political situation. He equated Hider's expansionist policies with the invasion and destruction of the Aztec Empire by the Spanish conquistador, Hernando Cortez. Intended for performance by the American equivalent of the National Theatre, the play proved to be both epic in conception and presentation, requiring, as Miller wryly observed, 'the whole Aztec army'. With a cast of around thirty, the play was shelved and had virtually 'disappeared,' the only copy being deposited amongst various Miller papers at the University of Austin in Texas. It was re-located by Chris Bigsby who brought it to the BBC with Miller's agreement.
