Scottish Ballet Presents the London Premiere Of THE CRUCIBLE, June 14-18

Scottish Ballet is set to bewitch London audiences at Sadler's Wells in June 2022 with its award winning production of The Crucible, based on the play by Arthur Miller and choreographed by Helen Pickett.

After its sold-out world premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2019, for which Helen Pickett received a Herald Angel Award, The Crucible now heads to London this June, and will embark on a 'homecoming' tour of the USA in 2023.

Created in collaboration with director James Bonas, The Crucible is an allegorical comment on the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s; Miller's chilling account of the 1692 Salem witch trials that recalls a community destroyed by fear, hostility and hysteria.

A dark and timely production, Scottish Ballet's The Crucible has been described by critics as a 'ballet for our times'. Designers David Finn and Emma Kingsbury bring the theatrical elements to life with stylish costumes, intense lighting and a striking modernist set.

London performances are vividly accompanied by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra performing Peter Salem's haunting score.

Summer 2022 marks ten years as Scottish Ballet's Artistic Director for Christopher Hampson, during which time the company has championed new works choreographed by women, including full-length productions from Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (A Streetcar Named Desire), Jess & Morgs (The Secret Theatre and Coppélia) as well as Helen Pickett's The Crucible.

The Crucible was the first ballet created as part of the Five in Five campaign, launched in 2019 to commission and stage five new full-length ballets in five years, as a legacy of work to commemorate Scottish Ballet's 50th anniversary year. The Crucible was followed by Christopher Hampson's The Snow Queen and then Sir Kenneth MacMillan's The Scandal at Mayerling. The fourth ballet will be Coppélia, choreographed by Jess & Morgs, premiering at Edinburgh International Festival in 2022. The fifth and final work in the campaign will be announced in 2023. All five works engage international and homegrown creatives of the highest calibre, and aim to appeal to new audiences, creating an important legacy for the company, the dance world and Scotland.

Christopher Hampson, Artistic Director/CEO of Scottish Ballet said:

"The Crucible was created as part of Scottish Ballet's 50th anniversary in 2019, yet our association with Helen Pickett began ten years ago when I became Artistic Director and commissioned a short work for my inaugural season at Edinburgh International Festival. Helen has since remained a constant creative companion, a dynamic storyteller and a dazzling collaborator. We are thrilled to add Helen's name to our growing list of full-evening works created by women - with more to come."

Helen Pickett, Choreographer of The Crucible, said:

"It was an incredibly fulfilling collaborative process working with Scottish Ballet to bring my vision of Arthur Miller's play to the stage. I had the pleasure of working with an exceptional creative team, Peter Salem, James Bonas, Emma Kingsbury and David Finn, and together we translated this iconic drama into the powerful medium of dance. Now, after a near three-year pandemic pause, I couldn't be more thrilled to watch The Crucible dance onto the Sadler's Wells stage in June, and then across the pond to the U.S. in May 2023."

James Bonas, Artistic Collaborator on The Crucible, said:

"Every once in a while, a piece of work comes along that feels so immediate, so vital and so resonant that to be part of the team bringing it to fruition is both an honour and a pleasure. Making The Crucible with Scottish Ballet and Helen Pickett never felt less than a challenge - it is, after all, an extraordinary play with its roots deep in the power of words - and the performance that comes to London this summer is the result. Exciting, uncertain and alive, it is a show that now has a life of its own and a tale of truth and lies that demands our attention."

For more information, visit: scottishballet.co.uk

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