The play centres around the Salem witch trials and is a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance and hysteria can intersect and tear a community apart. Since Miller himself fell foul of the McCarthy anti-communist trials in 1950s America it has become a cornerstone of theatre, standing as an indictment for injustice worldwide.
This production has been two years in planning and spokesman for the group, Robert Hamilton, said: ‘We have been taking musicals to Minden for over thirty seven years and this is the first time we will have taken a straight play. This was specifically at the request of the Stadttheater as the schools in Minden are currently studying it. It has been a big challenge for us which the whole company has risen to with enormous enthusiasm.’
The cast includes members from The Lyric Players, Wallington Operatic and SADC, as well as groups from Dorking, Leatherhead, Fetcham and south London.