Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (reviewed Thursday 17 July 2025).
One often goes to the theatre not merely to be entertained, but to be educated. Conscience written by Joe DiPietro is an incredibly important play for these modern times when political integrity is an unfortunate oxymoron. Directed by Madeleine Stedman and presented by Joining the Dots Theatre, this is a play that deserves a standing ovation.
The play charts the conflict between US President Joseph McCarthy and Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith, the only politician, it seems, with enough gumption to stand up to him. Joseph McCarthy has gone down in history as the guy who spread anti-communist propaganda across the country with unchecked amounts of authoritarian scare-tactics. The Crucible is based on these so-called ‘witch-hunts’. But Conscience is much more accessible to a modern audience in its writing, delivery and tone. Written after Trump’s first term in government, it absolutely speaks to what is happening right now across the US with a new wave of bigotry and fear gripping the country in the name of national pride and patriotism.
The title of the play is based on Chase Smith’s speech to Congress in which she bravely made a Declaration of Conscience, stating:
I do not want to see the Republican party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny – Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.
Source: https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/SmithDeclaration.pdf
Alison Chambers embodies Chase Smith’s virtues and vulnerability, conveying the angst that she isn’t always perfect in her convictions. Like McCarthy, who she initially supports with enthusiasm but comes to loathe, she too, is pressured to succumb to performative politics, dressing up as a housewife for magazines to make her more appealing to common voters. ‘I don’t bake, I legislate!’ protests Chase Smith through gritted teeth while posing for photographers.
Ben Dewstow is Joseph McCarthy, a failed idiot with untold amounts of charisma, but like one of those Magic Eye books, some people see it while others scratch their heads wondering what the appeal is at all. At one point during an anti-Russia rant to an adoring crowd, Dewstow pursues his lips in Trump-like fashion, channeling the obvious comparison.
Jordan Thompson is Miss Jean Kerr, McCarthy’s political aide, later his mistress / wife, who is coldly strategic and unemotional during the height of McCarthy’s popularity and then later standing by his side when things go pear-shaped.
Matthew Abotomey is Bill Lewis, the US Marine-turned-advisor who wants to see Chase Smith succeed, and construes his own ‘political marriage’ with the Senator for the good of the country rather than any personal ambition.
The four-hander set-up allows the narrative and conflict to flow effortlessly between scenes and characters, and 90-minutes flies by as we witness the gate-keeping machinations between subordinates and the titanic power-play between the Republicans. At one point Joe McCarthy teasingly announces he ‘has the files’ on who is supposedly a Communist, but maddeningly dances around the issue, declaring that the ‘evidence’ is not important. Chase Smith calls him out on it, accusing McCarthy of using hate as a virtue and the ability to exploit that hate to a hungry constituency. I wonder if DiPietro could even have imagined how close to home that scene plays out now, considering the current backlash around the Epstein files, and quite frankly, every single person on planet Earth that Trump has an issue with.
As far as face-palm cliches go, history likes to repeat itself. If there is one consolation from this play, it’s that truth will always trump. And that in itself, is very, very satisfying.
Conscience is playing at Greek Theatre til 26 July. For tickets and showtimes, go to https://collections.humanitix.com/conscience
Credits
Images: Iain Cox Photography
CAST
Matthew Abotomey as BILL LEWIS
Jordan Thompson as MISS JEAN KERR
Alison Chambers as MARGARET CHASE SMITH
Ben Dewstow as JOSEPH MCCARTHY
CREATIVES
DIRECTOR – Madeleine Stedman
STAGE MANAGER – Noah Cohen-Stoddart
PRODUCTION DESIGNER – Meg Anderson
SOUND DESIGNER – Alex Lee-Rekers
LIGHTING DESIGNER – Theodore Carroll
DIALECT COACH – Linda Nicholls-Gidley