FLICKY HARRISON previews a new production of Miller’s classic play   

GATECRASH Theatre are tackling The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s gripping tale of superstition and hysteria, in Swindon next week.

The performance is part of the Yearn and Learn programme introduced by the theatre company to allow amateur actors, back stage crew, and budding directors to work on a professional production alongside a team of experts.

Laura Barnes, Anna Friend and Dave Jell are the team of professionals leading the cast at the Swindon Arts Centre, Devizes Road, Old Town, from July 28 to July 30.

The Crucible, based on the Salem witch trials of 1692, was written by American playwright Arthur Miller in 1953 and was adapted into a film in 1957, and again in 1996 starring Paul Scofield, Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder.

A live version starring Richard Armitage was filmed at the Old Vic and shown in cinemas in 2014.

It became an opera in 1961 and has had many television adaptations.

The drama is about a community of British settlers who cross to the New World of America to start a new life. Within the small community the fear of witchcraft fans the flames of prejudice, igniting it into persecution fever.

Laura Barnes, the director, said: “In a tight-knit community, personal grievances collide with lust and superstition, fuelling widespread hysteria.

“Miller’s timeless parable attacks the evils of mindless persecution and the terrifying power of false accusations. The power of one teenage girl’s claims and control create a frenzied myth amongst her peers that in turn have devastating consequences on an entire town.’’ Gatecrash Theatre is based at the Commonweal School in Old Town and is made up of Gatecrash Ignite, aimed at beginners wanting to get their first taste of the limelight, and Gatecrash Evolve, which is aimed at adults who have already had some experience in theatre.

Auditions to join Evolve will be held on September 13. See www.gatecrashtheatre.co.uk for details.

Following on from the success of the Wroughton Passion Play, Jerusalem and Breathing Corpses, Gatecrash’s presentation of The Crucible starts at 7.30pm nightly and tickets are £13 from 01793 524481.