John Proctor is the Villain (Wyndhams Theatre)

FROM THE 2026 run at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs. Some actors have now left the cast.

(seen at the afternoon performance on 9th April 2026)

The monkey never knew (before reading the programme today) that “The Crucible” had its British premiere at the Royal Court Theatre.

Not a fan of the play – not even close to Miller’s best, it feels – it was nonetheless fascinated to see where Kimberly Belflower’s inspiration would lead.

Answer, quite interesting places in the end.

The play’s strength and weakness is that it tries to reflect and examine some of the themes by repeating Miller’s trick of making ancient history contemporary.

In this case, the #metoo movement replaces McCarthyism as the key driver. In our world where opportunities for young women should be unlimited, they remain fighting everyday gender harassments.

Speaking out does little to end the abuse. It is still men who arbitrate on the complaints, invariably dealing out resolutions to the male advantage.

Belflower allows her first two acts to burn slow. An almost “Glee” atmosphere prevails, with a “Mr Schue” like effervescent teacher Carter Smith (Donal Finn) wildly over-praising the patchy intellectual efforts of his class.

His pupils are flyover state small town kids. The brightest would be mediocre in a big city, the rest nondescript. Still, director Danya Taymor works the writer’s line-drawings into a cohesive and surprisingly deep collection of personalities.

The powerhouses are Beth (Holy Howden Gilchrist) and newcomer from far away Nell (Lauryn Ajufo). Driving ideas for change as well as intellectual rivalry, the energy of both is a remarkable success.

The troubles of Raelynn Nix (Miya James) are many – a scene with boyfriend Lee (Charlie Borg) is painful, the pair speaking volumes without saying a word. Massive trauma from James, complete ignorance from Borg.

Shelby’s (Sadie Soverall) arrival sets up the third act as suddenly Belflower floors the accelerator and blasts her work into orbit – Soverall riding her Bucking Bronco machine of a role like an expert.

In the underfunded classroom by designer AMP, where air-conditioning is a drooping 1960s fan, the table ferrules are old tennis balls and around which (to monkey delight) a Green Bay Packers football and decals are littered, truths out and women are ignored.

The stitches between Miller’s work and contemporary life hold. Some come too late and demand an exploration for which too little time is left. The result is crowded but often compelling – some sharp observations and always sharp performances with a truthful conclusion more satisfying than Miller’s take for this monkey.

A “Green Light” for this production.

FROM THE 2026 run at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs. Some actors have now left the cast.

18th April 2026. Saw it on Broadway and was worried I wouldn’t like the cast as well. NO worries! Loved them all, especially the people playing Beth, Shelby and Mr. Smith. Wish I could go back and probably won’t be here for the transfer. 5 stars!!!

Stalls AA15 and 16: There was a tremendous amount of legroom. The stage wasn't too high, but for this production the school room desks at the front of the stage frequently blocked my view of the cast.

Broadway John.

The monkey advises checking performance times on your tickets and that performances are happening as scheduled, before travelling.

Notes:
No 3pm performances on 6th and 11th February 2026

Extra 3pm performance on 10th February 2026

Venue Box Office & Current Prices

TodayTix

TodayTix. Charge between 10% and 20% booking fee per ticket. Discounts are often available as this is a large global ticketing company with this specific aim.