“The Crucible was an act of desperation.” Thus the playwright Arthur Miller describes the genesis of this play, which is based on historical facts. In 1692, in the small American city of Salem, men and women are persecuted and put in trial for witchcraft. Rumours and lies are aflame, and no one seems safe from accusation or revenge. Premiered in 1953, The Crucible was conceived as an allegory of the darkness of McCarthyism, which corroded the heart of America. Miller was also a victim of that anti-communist fever. Out of its epicentre – a primeval fascination with paranoia, a collective rage that demands the sacrifice of individuals – multiple echoes resound today. With this play, Nuno Cardoso continues his inquiry into the foundations of community life, a new study of social man’s blindness. Miller again: “Below its concerns with justice the play evokes a lethal brew of illicit sexuality, fear of the supernatural, and political manipulation.”
The Crucible will tour as follows:
22 - 23rd of April | Hungrian Theatre of Cluj, Romania
6st of May | Teatro Municipal de Vila Real, Portugal
29 - 30th of June | CCB – Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon, Portugal
30 September | Teatro Aveirense, Aveiro, Portugal
19 - 20th of October | Theatro Circo, Braga, Portugal
Photo credits: João Tuna