THE CRUCIBLE

Fueled by the injustice of the McCarthy Hearings of the 1950s, this American classic gives us an artist’s view of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, in which 19 people were hung, convicted of the felony of witchcraft. The story illuminates the rigid religious and political beliefs of a Puritan society which allowed – even encouraged – innocence to be shattered, and which raised up those who would destroy their own neighbors in the name of ambition and revenge. Miller gives us a passionately written reminder of how quick we can be to judge those who deviate from the norm, and what happens when we allow ourselves to be swayed by the crowd.