THE CRUCIBLE Casting Confirmed for Theatre Royal

Casting has been confirmed for the Selladoor Productions and Queen's Theatre Hornchurch production of Arthur Miller's blistering classic American drama The Crucible, which arrives at Theatre Royal in June 2017.

Charlie Condou, who is best known for the role of midwife Marcus Dent in Coronation Street, will be playing the witch-hunter Reverend Hale and Call The Midwife star Victoria Yeates takes on the role of Elizabeth Proctor. They will be joined by Eoin Slattery, whose career includes roles at The National Theatre, The Royal Exchange Theatre. Hull Truck plays, John Proctor and Lucy Keirl, who recently took the role of Juliet in The Watermill's 2016 production of Romeo and Juliet, plays Abigail Williams.

Other cast members include Paul Beech as Francis Nurse, David Delve as Giles Corey, Cornelius Clarke as Reverend Parris, Diana Yekinni as Tituba and Mercy Lewis, David Kirkbride as Ezekiel Cheever, Eleanor Montgomery as Ann Putnam and SusAnna Walcott, Augustina Seymour as Mary Warren and Rebecca Nurse, Leona Allen as Betty Parris and Carl Patrick as Thomas Putnam and Marshall Herrick.

The Crucible is directed by Douglas Rintoul, Artistic Director of the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, who takes a Brechtian approach to this potent story of frail reason in the face of hysteria. The production draws parallels with Trump's America and post-Brexit UK where truth is no longer an absolute and daily reports of race-driven hate crime fill the news.

One of the twentieth century's landmark dramas, Arthur Miller's The Crucible stands as both a historical record and a political parable for our times. The unrelenting and violent witch-hunt, which was originally written as an allegory about the brutal reign McCarthyism, which swept across the political landscape of 1950s America, resonates into the present day as a stark and ferocious warning from the past.

The production, which is also produced in association with Les The?atres de la Ville de Luxembourg, opens at Queen's Theatre Hornchurch on February 17 and then tours the UK and will include dates in Luxembourg in April (full schedule below)

Douglas Rintoul said: "The Crucible speaks more to us now than it has done since its premiere in 1953. I'm thrilled to be directing this terrifying play and for this

production to be reaching audiences across the UK and in Luxembourg through this innovative partnership".

David Hutchinson, Executive Creative Producer of Selladoor Productions said:

"We are delighted to be working with the Queens Theatre, with Douglas Rintoul at the helm bringing one of the most important plays of the last century on a major UK Tour. We've got a fantastic company after months of casting, and can't wait to get into rehearsals at Selladoor HQ in January."

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