WITCH NO. 1: Among depictions of the 17th century Salem witch trials in art and literature – including Henry Miller's play, The Crucible — is Joseph E. Baker's 1892 lithograph The Witch, No. 1. The lithograph depicts handcuffs flung from an accused woman's wrists and striking down her inquisitor. Picture by US Library of Congress/Wikicommons
Unity Theatre's Julie McPhail-directed production of the comedy Calendar Girls has booked out for the season but rehearsals have begun for the company's next show.
Norman Maclean is directing a production of Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible.
Based on the witch trials that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692-3, Miller's
dramatised and partially fictionalised story is an allegory for McCarthyism, when Cold War paranoia about supposed Communist sympathisers among the public was rife in the US government.
In The Crucible, the lives of the people of Salem twist and turn in a web of lies, suspicion and revenge as villagers take advantage of the climate of fear to work out grudges and ambitions.
Auditions for the production attracted a good response and the cast of 20 — 11 men, nine women — is complete. Lawrence Mulligan and Belinda Campbell have the central roles of John and Elizabeth Proctor, while Bo Jarrett and Danielle Hegarty play Abigail Williams and Mary Warren. Simon Marino and Sandy Brittain are Reverends Parris and Hale and the parts of deputy governor Danforth and Judge Hathorne have been picked up by Joe Martin and James Packman. Jess Horsfield plays Tituba while David McCall and Iidil Merlini are cast as Thomas and Ann Putnam.
