Difference between revisions of "The Crucible (2025)"
Mark Ireson (Talk | contribs) |
(→Gallery) |
||
| Line 90: | Line 90: | ||
== Gallery == | == Gallery == | ||
| − | + | '''[http://www.photos.sltarchive.co.uk/the-crucible-2/ See show photos here]''' | |
| − | + | ||
== Reminiscences and Anecdotes == | == Reminiscences and Anecdotes == | ||
Revision as of 23:52, 16 December 2025
Performances: Monday 10 – Saturday 15 November 2025, Old Fire Station
Contents
Introduction
A single lie sparks a wildfire of paranoia. This gripping classic tale of fear, power and mass hysteria, set during the Salem witch trials, is intense, timeless, and powerfully resonant.
Preview from SLT website
What drew you to directing this play?
I’ve always been fascinated by The Crucible, particularly its exploration of power, mass hysteria, and how ordinary people can destroy each other when panic takes hold. The story is rooted in the real Salem witch trials of 1692, one of history’s greatest tragedies: fourteen women, five men, and two dogs were executed for witchcraft, and a further 144-185 “witches and wizards” were accused, including imprisonment and torture; the oldest was eighty, and the youngest victim was just five years old.
I’ve always found witches as symbols of terror compelling. Although there are no real witches in this play, the fear of them still holds extraordinary power over people’s imaginations. The idea that a community can collapse under its own paranoia feels painfully familiar.
In our time, not a day goes by without someone being cancelled for their opinions or vilified for their mistakes. Social media and technology have put us under ever-greater scrutiny, allowing people to hide behind screens and inflate outrage for its own sake. We saw it after the Euro 2021 final, when England’s Black players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho faced horrific racial abuse simply for missing penalties.
The same collective hysteria resurfaced during the riots of the last two summers, when violent protests against immigration erupted. It was a stark reminder of how quickly fear can turn to hate, and how easily misinformation fuels chaos. That kind of moral panic, and the need to find someone to blame, is the same impulse that drives The Crucible. Whether in 1692 Salem or 2025 Britain, the witch hunt always finds a new form.
For anyone unfamiliar with what’s become a classic, what themes does the play explore?
The themes are incredibly relevant today: fear of “the other”, mob mentality, and the dangers of groupthink. At its heart, it asks how far we’ll go to protect our reputation, and what truth is worth when the crowd turns against us.
What have been the challenges in directing?
Staging the play has been exciting but demanding. The space itself is quite intimate, and we’re deliberately leaning into that claustrophobia, which makes movement and pacing more complex. Every rehearsal feels emotionally charged because this is not a play you can do halfway; it requires the cast to dig deep, and it has been incredibly intense for everyone.
We’re also weaving in live singing and physical movement, which has been rewarding but challenging alongside an already long and complex piece.
What do you hope the audience will take away from your interpretation?
Although it sounds simple, if we can all be a little kinder, a little more tolerant, a little more forgiving, that would be enough. Not everyone is an angel, and not everyone is a demon. We’re all fragile and fallible. It’s this moral greyness that terrified the Puritans: you were either pure or damned, a Christian or a witch. The uncertainty itself was dangerous. Strangely, in Salem, those who confessed to lies survived, while those who stood firm in truth were executed.
Our interpretation is set in a crumbling monolithic landscape, purposefully nameless and stripped of traditional Puritan imagery, because this story did not just happen in Salem. It is happening now, in the UK, around the world, and most visibly, online. I wanted to create a claustrophobic, immersive experience where the audience feels like they are part of the trials, forcing them to question their own role in mass hysteria. If the production makes people even a little more aware of those parallels in everyday life, and think before joining the mob, then it will have done its job.
Describe the show in three words
Brutal. Harrowing. Timeless.
Cast
- John Proctor - Ed Reeve
- Elizabeth Proctor - Roisín Deady
- Abigail Williams - Flora Blissett
- Mary Warren - Ellena Jones
- Mercy Lewis - Myrtó Katsoulidou
- Susannah Walcott - Sophia Marie
- Betty Parris - Kirsty Campbell Ritchie
- Reverend Samuel Parris - David Frost
- Reverend John Hale - Calum Speed
- Tituba - Rhiann Francis
- Giles Corey - Tom Melly
- Francis Nurse - Nick Howard
- Ezekiel Cheever - Tirusanthan Thiruvilangam
- Marshall George Herrick - Kenny Obedo
- Rebecca Nurse - Anita Sollis
- Ann Putnam / Sarah Good - Jessica Allen
- Thomas Putnam / Judge John Hathorne - Daniel Drema
- Deputy Governor Charles Danforth - Randy Brown
Crew
- Assistant Director - Sophie Davies
- Stage Manager - Cal Beckett
- Assistant Stage Managers - Lydie Koritsas, Chris Purcell and Johnny Ray Brolly
- Musical Director - Camille Frost
- Singer / Musician - Michael Frost
- Lighting Designer - James Jackson
- Operator - Isabel Aitken
- Set Designer - Stephen Hayward
- Costumes - Faith Powlett
- Costume Assistant - Lynsey Davies
- Make up - Aurora McLaughlin-Gouldhacker
- Show Photography - Phil Gammon
- Rehearsal Photography - Johnny Ray Brolly and Sophie Davies
- Fight Coordinator - Calum Speed
- Intimacy Coordination - Greg Williams
- Movement Choreographer - Tomás Brennan
- Scenic Art - Carole Ironside and Stephen Hayward
- Rigging - Sean Thomas and James Jackson
- Set Build - Sean Thomas, Dennis Fenton, Ed Smith, Joe Childs, cast and crew
Reviews
Some review quotes go here
Gallery
Reminiscences and Anecdotes
Members are encouraged to write about their experiences of working on or seeing this production. Please leave your name. Anonymous entries may be deleted.
