Abuse, witch-hunts and hangings: why Arthur Miller’s masterpiece The Crucible still haunts us

What’s behind all the revivals of the shocking parable about terrifying McCarthyism in 1950s America? Our writer reflects on how, through the decades, each fresh production finds new meanings that speak to our timesWhich is Arthur Miller’s best play? Many would say Death of a Salesman. For me it is the multilayered The Crucible, which is currently enjoying a rash of revivals. Scottish Ballet are touring Helen Pickett’s popular version and, in London, Shakespeare’s Globe, breaking its usual Bardic custom, this week begins a nine-week run of Ola Ince’s new production. Welcome as this focus on Miller’s masterwork is, it also raises a number of questions.You can see why The Crucible is so visible right now and why the Globe dubs it a “timely thriller”. Miller’s account of the witch-hunts in Salem in 1692 was initially seen as a political parable about Senator McCarthy’s investigation of suspected communists in the America of the early 1950s. Given the fact that in President Trump’s America, freedom of assembly, of the press and of speech are no longer guaranteed, and that you can be threatened with deportation for taking part in a pro-Palestinian protest, it is no surprise that people turn to The Crucible. Continue reading...

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