Director of play – The Crucible – says ‘ending will stay with you, long after the lights go down’
Arthur Miller’s epic play The Crucible is being brought to a stage in Bury St Edmunds this week.
Performers from Conservatoire East, the acting arm of West Suffolk College, will bring the classic tale to life from November 11 to 13.
All performances will take place at Abbeygate Sixth Form College.
Written by one of the worlds most lauded playwrights, the production sees the small community of Salem stirred into a cocktail of emotions that culminates in a climax that is not for the fainthearted.
Drawing parallels to the Salem, Massachusetts witch-hunts and the era of McCarthyism in America, the cast of budding acting superstars will draw on all of their resources to deliver career defining performances.
The director of the show is Performing Arts lecturer, Katherine Ingram. She said: “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a gripping story of fear, suspicion and the cost of speaking up, and it feels as sharp today as when it was written. Our cast brings the tension of Salem to life in a way you won’t forget.
“I’d say it is going to be a fast-building, edge-of-your-seat drama where one whisper becomes a witch hunt. Expect powerful performances, high stakes and an ending that stays with you long after the lights go down.”
Daniel Miller, 17, from near Haverhill, is in the first year of a Musical Theatre level 3 course. He plays John Proctor, and while he isn’t related to the playwright, he does feel a connection. “I could be a descendant,” he joked.
He continued: “There’s a lot of information thrown at you, but it’s very easy to follow and you see just how powerful it is. In three words, I’d say dramatic, intense, and a little bit of sadness, but a good sadness. Like a happy cry.” Summer Lewin,18, from Bury St Edmunds, is in the second year of an Acting for Stage and Screen level 3 course at Conservatoire East.
Summer said: “It was written as a political commentary on McCarthyism in 1950s America, and it’s based on real people in history. You get a new perspective on the Salem witch trials, and you will leave with your own interpretation of whether people should have been prosecuted.”
Tickets start at just £5.00 and can be purchased here: www.conservatoireeast.wsc.ac.uk/whats-on/
