Set in seventeenth century Salem, in a small rural community defined by intolerance and patriarchy, a group of girls are found conjuring spirits.
As accusations of witchcraft fly, the girls play judge, jury and executioner, destroying lives and altering the community beyond recognition.
The story was originally written in 1953 as an allegorical comment on McCarthyism in the US, but is more relevant than ever as political developments in America threaten a return to these dark days. This performance is brought to Luxembourg by Douglas Rintoul and The Queens Theatre, Hornchurch.
Using music and movement, the ensemble cast create an atmospheric staging of this theatrical classic, which promises to chill viewers to the core.
Rintoul said in a recent article published in The Guardian that Miller’s Salem is a community in the midst of great change where parts of the community feel they are losing control. He wrote: “Licensed by a series of convenient lies, post-truths and “alternative facts”, long-held hatreds of neighbours are openly expressed and vengeance taken. Hysteria takes hold. The most vulnerable are targeted.”
“The Crucible” is performed at the Grand Théâtre in Luxembourg on 6 and 7 April.