The Crucible

The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller in 1953 as a protest against the political extremism of the anti communist persecutions of the McCarthy Years. The story, which is a true story, took place in Salem, Massachusetts, at the end of the 17th century and tells of the religious extremism of a community of Puritans, which led to horrific and pitiless witch-hunts and hangings.

In our days of entangled political and religious extremism, which sadly persists, this seemed an appropriate play to choose for the Drama Masterclass production for 2011, one that gave these young actors food for thought and, certainly, a challenge for their acting skills. It was a demanding undertaking for them, with enormous numbers of lines to learn, one which they approached with hard work, enthusiasm, but enjoyment and satisfaction too. The performance was a great success, with some notable contributions from Philip Muwambi as John Proctor, James Tomlinson as Hale, Max Hunter as Danforth, Katya Goodwin as Abigail, Henry Writer as Judge Hathorne, Ambra Fuller and Eliza Hackett as Mary Warren, Freya Kirby as Goody Proctor and Ben Gough as Reverend Parris. Congratulations to all the cast, also to Mr Meier for his excellent lighting and film sequence, ably assisted by Flynn Matthews.