Performed at the

Nuffield Theatre

on

18^th to 23^rd June 1979

Arthur Miller was born in New York on 17th October 1915, the son of a clothing manufacturer. He attended the University of Michigan from 1934 to 1938, where he twice won the Avery Hopwood award for playwriting. On graduating, he returned to New York and quickly gained a reputation as a script writer, contributing material to such radio programmes as The Cavalcade of America. In 1944, Miller was invited to participate in gathering and preparing material for the film The Story of G.I.Joe. His experience of army life, gained during this project, also gave rise to Situation Normal, a volume of sketches.

Millers first play to appear on Broadway, The Man Who Had All The Luck, brought him no luck at all and lasted only four performances. In 1947, however, All My Sons enjoyed a long run and won the New York Drama Critics award. Death of a Salesman, first produced in 1949, built upon this success and is regarded as a landmark in American drama.

Miller was known to be a sympathiser of left-wing political causes and was the subject of investigations into Communist influence in the arts. The Crucible (1953) did nothing to dampen suspicion, since it was seen as drawing a comparison between the Salem Witch trials and American hysteria over communism. In 1956 he was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and on refusing to name his political associates, was cited for Contempt of Congress. The decision was, however, reversed by the courts.

His other works include Incident at Vichy and After the Fall, an autobiographical drama based on his four year marriage to Marilyn Monroe.

click on a photo to enlarge it

Christine Baker, Sheila Clark, possibly Denis Grist.

Cast
Betty Parris	Zoe Brookes
Rev. Samuel Parris	David Bartlett
Tituba	Christine Baker
Abigail Williams	Lynda Edwards
Susanna Wallcott	Meri Lawther
Mrs. Ann Putnam	Maureen Pearse
Thomas Putnam	Michael Patterson
Mercy Lewis	Anita Langham
Mary Warren	Carol Clark
John Proctor	Ken Spencer
Rebecca Nurse	Ann Brookes
Giles Corey	Denis Grist
Rev. John Hale	David Pike
Mrs. Elizabeth Proctor	Sheana Carrington
Francis Nurse	John Smith
Ezekiel Cheever	Brian Whitaker
Judge Hathorne	Becket Pennington Legh
Deputy-Governor Danforth	Philip de Grouchy
Sarah Good	Joan Johnson
Herrick	George Hutchinson

 

For the Maskers:
Stage Manager	Mike Johnson
Lighting	Mike McDermid
Technical Director	Joy Wingfield
Properties	Jacqui Mitchell
Costumes	Hazel Burrows
Assisted by	Audrey Whitaker
Sound	James McDowell, Chris Jones
Furniture	Sheila Clark
Set Design	Ken Spencer
Set Construction	Ken Spencer, Mike Johnson, John Riggs
Production Assistants	Jenny Mcconnell, Carol Clark
Business Management and Publicity	Brian Stansbridge, Graham Buchanan

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