The Crucible
Miller's play asks us to look beyond the idea of ghosts and spirits and into our own darkness
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"An endlessly revived historical drama from 1953 suddenly feels like the freshest, scariest play in town!"
Ben Brantley, The New York Times
Miller's play asks us to look beyond the idea of ghosts and spirits and into our own darkness
Miller's play asks us to look beyond the idea of ghosts and spirits and into our own darkness
With a stellar cast including Tony winner Sophie Okonedo (A Raisin in the Sun), Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) and Ben Whishaw (Spectre), Arthur Miller's landmark 1953 play mounts a much anticipated return to Broadway in Spring 2016. Acclaimed Belgian director Ivan van Hove (A View from the Bridge) is at the helm. This production is up for four Tony Awards this year, including Best Revival of a Play.
The Crucible is the story of a small, close-knit Puritan community whose lives are torn asunder by the climate of fear and suspicion that grows within them all as mass hysteria overtakes during a trial for witchcraft. By holding up a mirror to the panicked 1692 community, and bringing the strong moral purists to life, The Crucible allows us to look closer at the atrocities committed in the 1950s during the McCarthy era - transmitting a stark criticism of so-called morality that still resonates into today's world.
Based on events that transpired in the now notorious town of Salem in 1692, the story unfolds as rumours begin to abound that witches may be living amongst the townsfolk. When the Reverend Parris finds his daughter ill, he becomes suspicious and questions his niece Abigail Williams about tales of her night-time forays in the forrest with other girls and Tituba, a servant in the town. Abigail refutes these stories, claiming to have been possessed by witches, begining a frenzied hunt to discover who else among them habour such secrets.
As tensions mount and accusations are layered upon everybody, it becomes clear that Abigail may be using her notoriety as a way to damn the devout John Proctor, her married ex-lover and implicate his wife, when she realises that their illicit affair will not be rekindled. But the consequences are not some part of a childish hoax, but very real, with the cost being the life of the accused.
Thrilling and insightful The Crucible is still a visceral and damning look at the nature of humanity and remains important today as we continue to be quick to publicly shame, whilst ignoring the hypocrisy of our own thoughts and actions.
Ben Whishaw as John Proctor
Sophie Okonedo as Elizabeth Proctor
Saoirse Ronan as Abigail Williams
Ciaran Hinds as Deputy Governor Danforth
Bill Camp as Reverend John Hale
Jim Norton as Giles Corey
Tavi Gevinson as Mary Warren
Jason Butler Harner as Reverend Parris
Tina Benko as Ann Putnam/Sarah Goode
Teagle Bougere as Judge Hawthorne
Michael Braun as Ezekiel Cheever
Jenny Jules as Tituba Thomas
Jay Ryan as Thomas Putnam
Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Susanna Walcott
Elizabeth Teeter as Betty Parris
Ray Anthony Thomas as Francis Nurse
Brenda Wehle as Rebecca Nurse
Erin Wilhelmi as Mercy Lewis
Written by Arthur Miller
Produced by Scott Rudin
Directed by Ivo van Hove
Best Revival of a Play
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play - Sophie Okonedo
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play - Bill Camp
Best Lighting Design of a Play - Jan Versweyveld
2016 Drama Desk Award Wins
Outstanding Music in a Play - Philip Glass
Engrossing, disturbing, excellent
Every department - from casting to creative - has clearly understood Ivo Von Hove's vision of The Crucible, and it is certainly worth seeing!
Nicola Quinn
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