The Crucible: Arthur Miller’s terrifying, all-too-relevant classic comes to Theatre Royal Brighton

A brand new production of Arthur Miller’s landmark work, The Crucible, will arrive at Theatre Royal Brighton to transport you to seventeenth century Salem, where truth holds no currency, fear is used as a political tool and where intruding threats are invented to explain current woes.

In a tight knit community, a group of girls is caught dancing wildly in the woods. Allegations of witchcraft ensue. Lust, superstition and personal grievances collide and the whole village is quickly consumed by an unstoppable flow of fear, paranoia and manipulation – suddenly no-one is safe from their neighbour and the noose. Who will survive?

This terrifying classic couldn’t be more pertinent in today’s political landscape, a parable for our times. The unrelenting and violent witch-hunt, originally written as an allegory about the brutal reign of McCarthyism resonates into the present day as a stark and ferocious warning from the past. Director Douglas Rintoul’s explains:

“Unnervingly The Crucible is as relevant today as it was when it was first written, if not more so. The text operates in three time frames. It explores the events of the late 17th century whilst excavating the political events in the United States of America in the 1950s but also illuminating our own time. It’s easy to look around today and see the analogies that one can make between Salem, America in the 1950s and our contemporary world. We live in a world of post-truth, The Crucible is a world of post-truth. We live in a world of scapegoating the vulnerable and the innocent for control and power.”

We live in a world of scapegoating the vulnerable and the innocent

Charlie Condou, best known for playing Marcus Dent on the UK’s best loved soap, Coronation Street, takes on the role of witch-hunter Reverend Hale and adds:

“What’s so brilliant about the play is that it can apply to so many different times and that’s why it’s so prescient every time it’s staged. Of course, it’s about the story, but you can always find parallels going on in the zeitgeist and it invites those kinds of conversations in the audience.”

Charlie’s co-star, Call the Midwife’s Sister Winifred, Victoria Yeates, who plays Elizabeth Proctor says:

“It’s an intense show but it’s fast paced and the audience is completely gripped. You can see their astonishment as they are thinking ‘What? No! Oh my God, I can’t believe that has happened.’ By Act 4 they’re on the edge of their seats. We’ve received so much feedback that people feel the play is completely relatable to them and feels as though it was written for these times.”

This bold new production of one of the 20th century’s finest plays is co-produced with award winning producing house Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch and Selladoor Productions.

Don’t miss the spine tingling and chilling reminder of the frailty of reason in the face of hysteria.

Mon 24 – Sat 29 Apr 7.45pm | Thu & Sat mats
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