SCOTTISH BALLET / HELEN PICKETT / PETER SALEM

Based on the play by Arthur Miller, a brand-new narrative ballet, given its world premiere at the International Festival as one of the highlights of Scottish Ballet’s 50th anniversary year.

Pioneering choreographer Helen Pickett unleashes the full emotional force of Miller’s gripping, and still fearsomely relevant, drama of suspicion and accusation in a brand-new narrative ballet, given its world premiere at the International Festival as one of the highlights of Scottish Ballet’s 50th anniversary year.

In the God-fearing community of Salem, a childish game spins out of control. Dozens of villagers face trumped-up charges of witchcraft and the community plummets into a cauldron of recriminations from which it can never return.

A central work in American literature, Arthur Miller’s 1953 play dramatized the witch trials that took place in Salem in the 17th century, using them as an allegory for the heightened political repression and reckless accusations of McCarthyism that gripped the United States.

Following on from their acclaimed A Streetcar Named Desire in 2015 and a triumphant double bill at the 2016 International Festival, Scottish Ballet return to tackle another American classic. With a thrilling new score by Peter Salem played live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, The Crucible is a chilling examination of the painful pursuit of justice in a time of fear, hostility and resentment.

Photo Credit: Nicola Selby