Act One

The play is set in Salem, Massachusetts in the spring of 1692. At the beginning of the play the village priest, Reverend Samuel Parris, prays over the bed of his supposedly inert daughter, Betty. It transpires that the night before Parris had discovered a group of young village girls including his own daughter, his niece Abigail Williams and his slave Tituba, dancing in the woods. Rumours of witchcraft are spreading around the village and Parris is frightened of the effect that this will have on his already weak reputation.

The Putnams arrive at the house to tell Parris that their daughter is also afflicted and they go with Parris to pray with the other villagers. John Proctor, a local farmer, arrives and he is left alone for a moment with Abigail Williams and Betty. It transpires that he and Abigail had an affair when Abigail was a servant in his house. She is still infatuated with him although the affair ended some time ago when John’s wife found out and threw Abigail out of the house. She tells him that the girls are only pretending as they are frightened what their punishment might be if they admit to dancing in the woods.

Sadie Shimmin as Ann Putman, Cherry Morris as Rebecca Nurse and Douglas Henshall as John Proctor in The Crucible, photograph by Manuel Harlan

Rebecca Nurse, a much respected member of the community, arrives to try to calm the villagers and help the girls. She is followed by Reverend John Hale, a minister who Parris has asked to attend as he is considered to be skilled in seeking out witchcraft. Hale questions Tituba, the Parris slave, who admits that she made a blood potion in the woods but that it was the girls who encouraged her to do it. In order to save herself she confesses to having made a pact with the devil and names other people in the village as witches. Abigail joins in the accusations and the other girls in attendance swiftly follow her lead.

Act Two

Act Two is set in the Proctor’s house, a few months after the happenings at the Parris house. Now a court is in session and judges are presiding over the trials of those who have been accused of witchcraft.

John and his wife Elizabeth make strained conversation. It appears that Elizabeth has become cold towards her husband as a result of his affair and she still believes that he has feelings for Abigail. John accuses Elizabeth of being unable to forgive although the guilt he feels weighs heavily on him.

Elizabeth urges her husband to reveal what Abigail has told him but he is reluctant to do this as he will also have to reveal that he was alone with her.

Douglas Henshall as John Proctor in The Crucible, photograph by Manuel Harlan

As they continue their strained arguments Mary Warren, their servant, returns home from the courtroom. Mary was also one of the girls found dancing in the woods and it appears that these same girls, who also cried witchcraft against others, are now officers of the court. Many villagers are now being found guilty of witchcraft and sentenced to hang but if they confess to the crime of working with the devil they are allowed their freedom. Mary tells them that the girls, including her, become possessed in court if a witch is present and anyone who they point the finger of witchcraft at is arrested.

Mary has been in the court today, much to the disgust of John Proctor who knows that the accusations are false, and she tells them that Elizabeth’s name has now been mentioned. Elizabeth believes this to be the work of Abigail Williams who she thinks to still be in love with her husband and who wants to take her place as his wife.

In the middle of this Reverend Hale arrives with the news that Rebecca Nurse has also been charged. He questions the Proctors about their faith and John fails to recite the Ten Commandments, leaving out the important ‘thou shalt not commit adultery’.

Giles Corey, a farmer and friend of the Proctors also arrives with Francis Nurse and the news that both their wives have now been arrested. A few minutes later the court officials arrive with the arrest warrant for Elizabeth Proctor. They take her away and the act ends with John Proctor insisting that Mary Warren will go with him to the court to tell the truth about the girls.

Act Three

This act is set in the courtroom where Deputy-Governor Danforth is presiding over the trials. John Proctor, along with Giles Corey and Francis Nurse, has brought Mary Warren to admit to the girls' deception in the hope that it will save the lives of their wives.

Giles gets into an argument in the court with Thomas Putnam by saying that he is using his daughter to accuse villagers of witchcraft in order to obtain their land. Giles is then arrested when he refuses to name the source of his information.

Mary tells the court that she was lying and that she has not been possessed. Danforth then calls the other girls into the court and, led by Abigail, they say that they can feel an icy wind which is Mary’s evil presence in the room. In a moment of chaos John Proctor accuses Abigail of being a liar and a whore and in doing so admits to his own adultery. Abigail then accuses John of lying and John tells the court that his wife knows of his adultery and that she will tell the truth.

Ian Bartholomew as Deputy-Governor Danforth in The Crucible, photograph by Manuel Harlan

Danforth then calls Elizabeth Proctor before the court and she lies in order to save her husband, not knowing that he has already admitted to the crime. Hale, realising that the truth is being withheld, tries to reason with the officials but they will not hear any of his pleas.

Abigail then supposes to see Mary Warren manifesting herself as a clawed bird in the courtroom, trying to swoop down and hurt her. All the other girls then also see the same and chaos and hysteria ensue. Mary Warren falls under the pressure from the girls and she accuses John Proctor of being in a pact with the devil.

In the final moments of the act, John Proctor denounces his faith and is jailed.

Act Four

Act four is set months later in the jail where many are due to hang that day including John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. Giles Corey is already dead but Elizabeth Proctor's hanging has been delayed as she is found to be pregnant. Those who have confessed to witchcraft are now free and it is those who have refused who are set to hang.

Parris and Hale have been praying with the condemned, trying to persuade them to confess in order to save their own lives. They both plead with Danforth to postpone the hangings and it transpires that Abigail has fled Salem, robbing her uncle of his life savings. Parris is terrified for his own safety but Hale is now forthright and outspoken. Where he once held back on his opinion he now speaks out, the weight of guilt from his actions being too much to bear.

He is allowed to plead with Elizabeth Proctor to try to convince her to persuade her husband to change his mind and admit to witchcraft in order to save his own life. John is brought in and they meet after months of separation.

In the time apart Elizabeth has come to realise that her coldness may have pushed her husband towards Abigail and she shares the blame for the problems in their marriage. John wants Elizabeth to advise him what to do but she will not, saying that he must decide for himself. Firstly, he makes the decision to confess but when he is asked to name others he begins to falter. Finally, when he is asked to sign his confession, he does so but immediately rips up the paper, realising that he cannot betray himself by signing his name to a lie. The play ends with Proctor being taken to the gallows to his death.

Ian Bartholomew as Deputy-Governor Danforth and Douglas Henshall as John Proctor in The Crucible, photograph by Manuel Harlan

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