Candles, Crosses, and Consequences: A Striking Crucible
A clear artistic vision and gorgeous staging make The Crucible InPlayers’ best show yet.
Photo by Rae Gerritsen
This review is for the play The Crucible, produced by InPlayers at Mike’s Badhuistheater from May 15-18, 2025
The Crucible is a classic American play by Arthur Miller, set during the Salem witch trials in colonial Massachusetts. Every American high school student can tell you (it's part of the standard curriculum) that Miller wrote it as an allegory for McCarthyism and the Red Scare, a time when accusations of communism spread like wildfire. That historical and literary duality makes The Crucible a staple in American classrooms—it's a two-for-one lesson in literature and history.
The play has had a lasting impact, regularly revived on major stages. Most recently, it was performed in London’s West End, and a spin-off play, John Proctor Is the Villain, is currently running on Broadway, starring Sadie Sink (of Stranger Things fame), who just received a Tony nomination for her performance.
For those unfamiliar, The Crucible begins with a group of girls caught dancing in the woods—a scandal in Puritan New England. The local reverend suspects witchcraft, and as it turns out, he’s not entirely wrong. One of the girls, 17-year-old Abigail Williams, has been dabbling in spells to try and kill off Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of the man she had an affair with: farmer John Proctor. To avoid punishment, the girls begin accusing others of witchcraft, unleashing a tidal wave of hysteria. Those accused are brought before the court and forced to choose: confess to witchcraft (and name others) or hang.
John Proctor, the play’s protagonist, tries to bring reason to the chaos. His wife Elizabeth understands what’s really going on—that Abigail is leading the witch hunt and won’t stop until Elizabeth is removed from the picture.
Director Niamh Merritt’s production took a nuanced and refreshing approach to The Crucible, moving beyond the typical high school or community theater interpretation.
The show opened with a powerful image: a stark, minimal set with a cross center stage. Characters entered one by one, carrying candles and humming a hymn before forming a solemn tableau. Significantly, the female characters took center stage, with Tituba—the enslaved woman from Barbados and the first accused—at the heart of the group. From the beginning, Merritt made it clear this production would focus on the broad impact of the events that wrecked this small Puritan town, not just one central figure.
Lydia Wapshaka delivered a particularly moving performance as Tituba, capturing both fear and desperation with raw emotion—just enough to be compelling without veering into melodrama. The ensemble was strong overall; it was solid, heartfelt amateur theatre. While the pacing slowed in some of the scenes and there was a bit of excessive shouting (a common challenge with the text), the performances remained engaging.
Standout performances included Lydia Wapshaka as Tituba, Keith Day as Reverend Parris, and Ken Kitchen as a particularly charming Giles Corey. Seasoned actor Keith Day’s Reverend Parris ensured the play started off on a strong note, with his character being one of the central figures in Act One. Ken Kitchen was the perfect fit for Giles Corey, making the audience laugh throughout the show and providing some comic relief in such a heavy drama.
What truly elevated the production, however, was its cohesive artistic vision. The lighting design by Yann Belin was both evocative and functional, setting mood and focus beautifully. Costumes by Lynn Vogel (who also played Abigail Williams) were period-appropriate and visually rich. The staging was clean and effective, with clear thought given to composition and movement.
Photo by Rae Gerritsen
One moment, in particular, lingers with me: Elizabeth Proctor is brought before the judge and asked whether her husband had an affair. The judge, facing away from the audience, sits in a chair in front of her. Elizabeth faces out, standing directly under the cross, while John and Abigail also face forward, backs to her, so the audience could clearly see all three of their reactions to what was happening. The combination of lighting and stillness was breathtaking, and it created a gorgeous stage picture that I can still see clearly in my mind.
This Crucible was a thoughtful, clean, well-executed production with a strong artistic vision. It centered the experience of a wider range of characters and brought a fresh emotional clarity to a frequently produced but often under-explored classic. I can confidently say that it was the best InPlayers production that I have seen, and I look forward to seeing what they come out with next!