A stirring play about the eternal moral dilemmas makes its comeback on stage the SND that last staged ´The Crucible in 1966. In his play that is an active witness to history, presence and possibly the future, Miller was inspired by the case from the past of the Puritan New England, the witch-hunt in the town of Salem in 1692. The girls, enthused by their house slave, engaged in paganic rituals. They started hallucinating as if possessed by the devil. Pressured by fear, collective hysteria and pragmatic manipulation, they started reporting false, especially female culprits. That brought about dozens of executions of the innocent, arrests, along with fatal chaos and horror. Even though Miller painted an impressive historical fresco, everyone was aware of his intention to place in the context of Salem the developments that took place in United States after World War II, when McCarthy’s Committee on Un-American Activities staged its witch-hunt. It was a hunt on all artists who were suspects of sympathising with Communism. Everything dishonourable ultimately turns against its makers. Yet, the cost is immense. Are we able to learn the lessons? Actually, are we willing to?

Running time: 3 hrs with one interval