The Crucible

The Maddermarket Theatre is bringing Arthur Miller's The Crucible to St John's Alley from Wednesday 11 to Sunday 15 November, a production by NPTC. It's a five-night run, so you've got a few different slots to choose from: the evening shows run Wednesday 11 to Friday 13 at 7:30 pm, and then there are matinees on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 at 2:30 pm.

If you're coming to it fresh, the play is set in 1692 in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It follows a group of girls who accuse fellow villagers of witchcraft, sparking trials that consume the town in fear, paranoia and a distorted sense of justice. Miller wrote it as a chilling allegory for the Red Scare and McCarthyism of the 1950s, and it's still described as a story that resonates today. This staging by NPTC leans into those themes, exploring mass hysteria, personal vendettas and moral integrity in a community where accusation becomes law.

It's a heavy piece of writing, and the Salem setting is just the starting point. The real weight of it is in how quickly a whole community can turn on itself when fear takes over, and how hard it is for anyone to hold onto their integrity when the accusation itself becomes the law. That's the part that keeps it relevant, and it's exactly where this production is focusing.

Tickets are £16.80, and the theatre is at St John's Alley, Norwich NR2 1DR. With the evening shows mid-week and the matinees on the weekend, there's plenty of room to fit it in.