I saw the opening night of this play. It is always interesting to find a director who can still find new truths and interpretations in a classic play. This piece is often sombre to the point of leadeness but here it is presented as a piece with hope as well as committment to universal values running through it. The cast were totally engaging and convincing throughout. All the principals were strong giving a very rounded piece. The simple staging instantly evoked the time and place although it caused a few sightline problems in the court scene. The use of the village girls as a virtually silent chorus was superb underscoring. Although acting and re-acting (constantly throughout) as a group one always felt they were individuals, never slipping into the trap of a rehearsed chorus. I would recommend this as a great evening out. It runs quite late in the evening so take a sweater for the second half!

Saw this yesterday and it has leapt up my top 10 amazing productions which is quite an achievement given that I've seen some truly amazing theatre in the last few years inc Oliver F-D in Hamlet. Strong, compelling performances by all and completely agree with another comment about the effectiveness of the Salem village girls both off and on the stage - really creepy. Hard to single anyone out for special praise - all truly excellent. Go and see it if you want to spend 3 hrs completely sucked into this world where hysteria, prejudice and baser human emotions are finally trounced by strength of character to stand up for your good name and beliefs.

This production of The Crucible uses the unique open air setting of Regent's Park Open Air Theatre to great effect. The fading light as the play rolls inexorably towards its climax really does add something other-worldly to the feel of the play. One of the highlights for me were the use of the girls off-stage acting as a sort of mute Greek Chorus (when they stand up in unison and point accusingly at Tituba it really is quite chilling). Standout performances are Bettrys Jones as Mary Warren and veteran actor Oliver Ford-Davies as Deputy Governor Danford, who had the uncanny knack of being able to project his voice to the very back seats of the theatre without sounding as if he was raising it. Thoroughly recommended!

This is a somewhat frustrating production of Arthur Miller's classic play. The cast are, for the most part, superb. The casting of John Proctor as a woman never distracts from the central story and indeed Caoilfhionn Dunne does a fantastic job, showing Proctor's conflicted character. Emma D'Arcy is also excellent as Elizabeth and the ensemble works well as a whole. However, the production design is for the most part incomprehensible and distracting. Moving scenes are undermined and muddied by bizarre costume changes, technical cues and the frankly irritating depiction of witches as alien-like creatures. Several early stylistic decisions, such as labelled chairs and Powerpoint presentations of stage directions, are never successfully integrated and are largely abandoned as the show goes on. This show is worth seeing for the stellar performances, but would benefit from a stylistic overhaul.

'The Crucible' is one of the best plays of the 20th Century and it is unfortunate that this current production does it a complete disservice. The problems are ultimately because of some poor directorial decisions.The cast never quite gel together, and a few resort to a melodramatic acting style, resulting in belly laughs in what should be a sombre play. Patrick O'Kane, as John Proctor, was particularly miscast, acting as if he were Gaston from 'Beauty and The Beast'. The girls, who observe the action from the sides of the stage pointing and chanting at the accused, are distracting rather than an enhancement. In turn, none of the tension that should have been present in this play was apparent; other audience members must have felt the same way from the number I saw leaving at interval.