Table of Contents

Chronology


Introduction

Historical, Social and Cultural Contexts

Genre and Themes

Play as Performance

Production History

Academic Debate

Behind the scenes – Interview with Set Designer Soutra Gilmore on The Old Vic production of The Crucible, directed by Yaël Farber

Further Study


The Crucible


Notes

Promotional Information

The Crucible is Arthur Miller's classic dramatisation of the witch-hunt and trials that besieged the Puritan community of Salem in 1692. This Methuen Drama Student Edition features commentary and notes by Soyica Diggs Colbert.

About the Author

Arthur Miller (1915-2005) was arguably the greatest American playwright of the twentieth century. Hist most famous work for the stage includes Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, All My Sons and A View from the Bridge. Six volumes of his plays and a volume of his theatre essays are published by Methuen Drama.

Soyica Diggs Colbert is the Idol Family Professor of African American Studies and Performing Arts at Georgetown University. She is also an Associate Director at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. Colbert is the author of Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry, Black Movements: Performance and Cultural Politics, and The African American Theatrical Body. Colbert co-edited Race and Performance After Repetition and The Psychic Hold of Slavery. Most recently, she served as a Creative Content Producer for The Public Theatre’s audio play, shadow/land.
Susan C. W. Abbotson is Professor of Dramatic Literature at Rhode Island College, USA.

Reviews

[The book has] extensive but not daunting information under headings such as Historical and Social Context, Genres and Themes and Performance History, among other aspects. It’s clearly and accessibly written.
*Ink Pellet: The Arts Magazine for Teachers*