Edward Alderton Theatre Home | News | This Season | Next Season | Bookings | Auditions | Members | Archive | History | Location | Links | Contact Us   The Crucible by Arthur Miller Directed by Sue Higginson 9-16 October 2004 (7 performances) 1692: Salem, Massachusetts. When teenagers are discovered in the woods playing an innocent game, they are accused of witchcraft by the town elders. They only way they can avoid punishment is to name the others involved. But when simple farmer John Proctor gets caught up in things, events turn even more serious... Cast Betty Parris Alice Carter Rev Samuel Parris Mark Campbell Tituba Janette Nzekwe Abigail Williams Helen Carter Susanna Wallcott Holly Sutherland Ann Putnam Jean Sharp Thomas Putnam Richard Banks Mercy Lewis Aysev Ismail Mary Warren Kellie Risby John Proctor Andy Briggs Rebecca Nurse Eleanor McEnery Giles Corey David Hampton Rev John Hale Michael Martin Elizabeth Proctor Gill Grubb Francis Nurse Horry Stapleton Ezekiel Cheever Richard Tame John Willard Paul Friett Judge Hathorne Andy Godfrey Deputy Governor Danforth Tony Donnelly Sarah Good Viv Stapleton Crew Stage Manager Helen Bezer Assistant Stage Manager Stephanie David Set Designer Mike Higginson Set Construction Mike Higginson, Ron Andrews Lighting & Sound Design John Buckle Lighting & Sound Operation David Shields Costumes Viv Stapleton, Jean Sharp, Caroline Rees Properties from Erith Playhouse, costumes from the RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon. Review A morality play for our times Until Saturday, the Edward Alderton Theatre in Bexleyheath is staging a monumental production of Arthur Miller's superb play The Crucible. Director Sue Higginson has gathered a team of twenty performers to create Miller's version of one of the most chilling events in North-American history - the witch trials and executions that occurred in Salem during the late 17th century. However, the work is also a passionate indictment of the so-called witch hunts that occurred in the USA during the 1950s. Senator McCarthy of Massachusetts had created an unnatural fear of communists and the famous and the not so famous were being accused by friends and enemies alike and losing their careers as a consequence. The parallels with the events in Salem are uncanny. Miller used actual events and real people in his play although ages have changed, several people have been merged into one, and events have been integrated into dramatic cameos. Mike Higginson's bleak and atmospheric set features some pieces of furniture that look too modern, but John Buckle's lighting soon illuminates the innovative nature of the set design. It is often said that the events in Salem were the result of mass hysteria. In this new production, the horrors seem to be deliberately induced by one woman (Abigail Williams) and her close friends. This character is created with a real sense of wickedness and sexuality in a superb performance by Helen Carter. However, the main flow of the play revolves around John Proctor who had enjoyed an affair with Abigail while he was married. Andy Briggs is superb in the part and clearly shows the torment of a man torn by his beliefs and reputation, and that of his wife (Gill Grubb.) In a fine cast Mark Campbell, Eleanor McEnery, Michael Martin, Janette Nzekwe (a bright star for the future), Andy Godfrey, and Tony Donnelly provided just some of the highlights of an extraordinary triumph in a small theatre. Roy Atterbury Kentish Times | 21 October 2004