The Crucible (2007)

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Directed by Anton Krause Performances: Tue 20th – Sat 24th Feb 2007, Prompt Corner at 7.30pm

Written in 1953, Arthur Miller's The Crucible is one of the most important and powerfully written plays of the 20th century. On the surface it is a partically fictionalised retelling of the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s, but at the same time is a powerful allegory of McCarthyism in 1950s America, where suspected Communsits were hounded and persecuted. The play serves as a warning against the effects of rampant suspicion and paranoia in all societies and has as much to say today as it ever did.

The plot is taken from the true-life events in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 when a group of young girls accused their fellow villagers of practicing witchcraft, leading to the executions of 19 men and women (and two dogs). Miller, having read through all of the court transcripts and looking for the motives behind the accusations, spun them into a compelling tale of repression, religious intolerance and sexual jealousy.