The Crucible will be the first twentieth-century drama – the first modern classic – to be staged in the Globe Theatre. How did your thought process behind this start?

The most unique thing about Shakespeare’s Globe is our two amazing theatres – the outdoor, open-air Globe Theatre and the indoor, candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. As well as what these theatres offer to Shakespeare’s plays, we started to ask, ‘Can we also re-imagine more modern plays, through the prism of our theatres’ incredible architecture?’ We’ve seen that work so well recently in the Playhouse, with Ibsen’s Ghosts (2023) and Chekhov’s Three Sisters (2025). So we thought, can we apply the same principle to the unique performing space that is the Globe?

With so many incredible plays to select from, how did you decide on The Crucible?

We know Shakespeare thought so architecturally when he was writing his plays – so when you put As You Like It or Julius Caesar or Henry V in the Globe, the plays themselves are at one with the architecture. So, we had to consider which modern plays would work best in the Globe architecture.

Firstly, we were looking for plays with a strong relationship to the audience. The Globe works best when it’s packed with people! Arthur Miller’s play is psychologically motivated, but so much of it is about a trial – a very public affair.

Secondly, we focused on famous classics that feel really timely, right now. Shakespeare somehow magically speaks to every time we’re in, whereas some modern classics are brilliantly time-specific. We considered plays which use history to talk about now, and that’s when The Crucible started to feature. It is historically talking about the witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, and also about McCarthyism in 1950s America. I probably don’t need to say too much about where we are in the world right now, and why this story is still so important.

Shakespeare’s plays asked questions but left the audience to make up their own mind about the answers. And Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is absolutely one of those plays that is posing a problem and it’s up to us to work out what to do with it.

There’s also an incredible real-life link between The Crucible and Shakespeare’s Globe – could you tell us about that?

Part of the reason that Sam Wanamaker, the founder of Shakespeare’s Globe, came to Britain in the first place was because of McCarthyism in 1950s, when the American government was overwhelmingly concerned with the growth of communism and hunting for supposed ‘infiltrators’ in the US. During the proceedings, in which Arthur Miller was also accused, Sam was added to a block list by the House of Un-American Activities, meaning he was banned from working in the US as an artist. So he moved to the UK, and we wouldn’t be here today without him.

How did Director Ola Ince become involved in the production?

There’s just no question in my mind that Ola is one of the greatest directors – not just in this country, but full stop. She has incredible humanity and absolute belief in theatre as an art form. She is so fierce and forensic about asking, ‘Why this play now? What is this production trying to do, now?’ So when I asked her to direct The Crucible, it took no time for her to say ‘yes’, and I’m so excited to have her amazing heart and brain and talent on it.

In Shakespeare’s plays – for instance in As You Like It – he’ll say, ‘Now we’re in the Forest of Arden’ and the audience has to imaginatively accept that’s where we are. But Ola and Designer Amelia Jane Hankin are turning the Globe into a physical location – it won’t just look like Salem in 1692 it’ll have the sounds and smells, using every inch of the theatre to make the audience feel part of this agricultural community. When you’re watching a play outdoors, it’s a full-body experience, and the team are absolutely embracing that. Their vision is so specific to the Globe, immersive and completely experiential.

What are you most excited about?

Theatre is a game of chance – it’s a game of alchemy. You can put all the things in place and still have no idea how it’s going to go. And we’ve got to acknowledge that this is an experiment! But here we’re saying – let’s come together, safely in the embrace of the Globe, and  have a live conversation about what’s going on, back then and right now – in the hands and the heart of Ola and her amazing Company and creative team. I just think that’s what theatre’s about, isn’t it?

The Crucible plays for nine weeks only in the Globe Theatre, from 8 May to 12 July 2025. 

FINIS.