Audition Notice
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Directed by Nettie Sheridan
Audition Date: Sunday 29th June 2025, 6pm
(recalls on Monday 30th June, 7pm)
Production Dates:
13 & 16-20 September 2025 at 7:45pm
Matinees 14 & 20 September at 2:30pm
Rehearsals
To commence week beginning 28th July – 4 x a week. Readthrough of the play will be scheduled for a week prior to rehearsals – week beginning 21st July – Dates to be confirmed.
If you are unable to make the audition date and for more information and audition pieces, please contact Nettie on
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The Crucible is a powerful and enduring play written by Arthur Miller in 1953. It’s a dramatised and partially fictionalised story of the Salem witch trials that took place in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693.
The play begins in a Puritan town in Massachusetts where a group of girls, led by Abigail Williams, are caught dancing in the woods and are suspected of witchcraft. To avoid punishment, they start accusing others in the community of consorting with the devil. Fear, paranoia, and hysteria quickly spread, and a witch hunt ensues.
At the centre of the play is John Proctor, a local farmer who tries to expose the falsehoods and save his wife, Elizabeth, who has been accused. His past affair with Abigail complicates matters. Ultimately, Proctor faces a moral crisis, choosing between integrity and survival.
Though based on real events from the 1690s, Miller wrote the play in the early 1950s during the Red Scare in the United States. It served as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the U.S. government blacklisted and persecuted people accused of being communists. Miller himself was questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee.
The Crucible is a critique of ideological extremism, mob mentality, and injustice. It explores how personal grievances, and hidden agendas can warp legal proceedings.
The play remains relevant today as a warning against the dangers of groupthink and moral panic.
BLT actively encourages auditionees from ethnic minority communities
You do not have to be a member of the company to audition, but if you are cast you must join.
M and F represent the gender of the character and that will not change but we are happy for people of any gender to audition to play the roles.
Characters
For dramatization purposes the ages of the players may differ from the real life Salem inhabitants and they are only ‘guidelines’ please do not be put off by ages.
Rev. Samuel Parris - 35-45 (M). Puritan minister of the Church in Salem. Uncle of Abigail Williams father of Betty Parris. Self serving, power hungry, insecure. Dislikeable, controlling, obsessed with reputation. Rev. Parris stumbles across the girls led by Tituba dancing in the woods ….dancing is forbidden ….and so the witchery begins …. Powerful preaching voice
Abigail Williams - 17-25 (F). Antagonist and Villain. The real Abigail Williams was only 11 or 12 years old during the Salem trials, however, we are playing her older to enable the proposed relationship between she and John Proctor. One of the first girls to falsely accuse neighbours of witchcraft she is profoundly dishonest, ego-centric, opportunistic – willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. She turns the entire town against itself. Niece to Rev Parris. Physical / Movement required.
John Proctor - 40-60 (M). A landowner – and the plays tragic hero. Honest upright and blunt spoken, a good man but one with a secret fatal flaw – an affair with Abigail Williams – which contributes to jealousy and ultimately sets the entire witch hysteria in motion. A proud man who places great emphasis on his reputation. John Proctor was one of the first men to be executed for witchcraft along with his wife and all of his children. (Note: John was actually about 60 but we are playing and therefore can be flexible in age here).
Elizabeth Proctor - 35-50 (F). Quiet, loving, religious, a stereotypical puritan woman, strong in faith and dedicated to her family. Whilst she represents the ideal wife and mother – she lacks self esteem and struggles to recognise her own worth. She appears plain and a little sickly. She is aware of John’s affair with Abigail and struggles to forgive him. Elizabeth pleads the belly to escape execution. Note: I will be looking to cast a believable couple in John and Elizabeth Proctor.
Tituba - 30+ (F). Enslaved native American woman residing and working in the Parris household. She loves little Betty Parris. Probably taken into the home as young as 12 years old and grew up as part of the Parris family. Tituba leads the dancing in the woods with the girls of Salem and is one of the first women to be accused of witchcraft. There is little known information about Tituba in the records of Salem though she was the first to confess to witchcraft. Kind, caring, honest but also vulnerable and easily manipulated. Physical.
Mary Warren - 17-25 (F). A young servant girl in the Proctor household. She is an accuser in the witch trials and confesses to witchcraft herself. She is fickle, submissive, fearful and weak. She is easily influenced by others (in particular Abigail Williams) and symbolises just how easily a society can be moulded and shaped by panic. It is clear that she does not really believe that she is witched but allows herself to be swept up into the frenzy. Physical.
Rev John Hale - 40-45 (M). John Hale is the puritan pastor of Beverly, Massachusetts. One of the most prominent and influential ministers associated with the witch trials, presented as a knowledgeable and confident expert in identifying witchcraft but his belief in the trials is ultimately challenged by evidence and his growing awareness of injustice. Begins as a leader in the witch hunt, encouraging confessions and supporting the courts proceedings, but later denounces the trials and attempts to save lives. He ends a broken man realising his part in the execution of innocents.
Betty Parris - Very young. 10-18 (F). Betty is a child, probably only about 10 – daughter of Rev Parris who falls into a strange comatose state after being caught dancing in the woods with other girls and Tituba. Her illness and that of another young girl, Ruth Putnam, initially fuel the rumours of witchcraft in Salem. Her fear of punishment for dancing leads her to follow Abigail’s lead and accuse others of witchcraft. Young, fearful, vulnerable easily influenced by others. I’d like a very young looking adult or possibly a confident and mature child actor. Movement /flexibility required.
Mrs Ann Putnam & Sarah Good - 40-50 (F). Ann Putnam wife of a landowner, is well known in the town as a hysterical, dramatic gossip and very jealous woman. She is ‘haunted by dreams’ and obsessed with the loss of her seven babies and unable to focus on anything else. Ruth Putnam is the only surviving child of Thomas and Ann Putnam – she is asked by her mother to try to conjure the spirits of her seven dead siblings. She is also an official in the court. (Doubles with Sarah Good).
Thomas Putnam - 40-60 (M). Landowner who regards himself as intellectually superior to the majority of Salem’s population. As such, he is a vindictive, resentful person, holding grudges and running campaigns against other people in the town – in particular with regard to land disputes. Unsurprisingly, many accusations against people in Salem are in the handwriting of Thomas Putnam.
Rebecca Nurse - 70+ (F). Rebecca is a prominent and respected older woman in the Puritan community known for her wisdom, piety, and upright character. She is a calm voice amidst the chaos. Despite her good reputation she is falsely accused of witchcraft. Angelic, compassionate and humble.
Francis Nurse - 70+ (M). A landowner in Salem who is responsible for settling legal disputes amongst the people. A fair minded man, Francis is well respected and generally considered a good man but many people resent his rise to wealth. Arguments over land have resulted in physical fights with Thomas Putnam.
Giles Corey - 70-80 (M). An English-born farmer accused of witchcraft along with his wife Martha. After being arrested he refused to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty – He was then tortured by the form of applying weight upon his person – he was dead after 3 days of weight being piled upon him.
Deputy Governor Danforth - 60+ (M). Thomas Danforth is a successful, intelligent and highly respected Puritan judge. His job is to oversee the persecution of those accused of witchcraft. He is dilusional, authoritative and arrogant. He believes that his word is final. Responsible for the deaths of many innocent people and for the destruction of John Proctor’s family.
Judge Hathorne - 40+ (M). A puritan judge arrives in Salem with Gov Danforth. He is ‘chief interrogator’ and prosecutor in the trials. Bitter, remorseless, sides with Abigail in the courtroom. Known as the ‘Hanging’ judge.
Mercy Lewis - 17-25 (F). A young unmarried servant girl to the Putnams. Sly, merciless, cares for Ruth Putnam and friendly with Abigail Williams. Vulnerable to manipulation and pressure. Participates in the ritual in the woods.
Susanna Walcott - 17-25 (F). A nervous and hasty girl, younger than Abigail. She works at the Doctor’s office – participates in the ritual in the woods. Falsely accuses others of witchcraft at the trials.
Cheever/Herrick/Hopkins/Willard - 20+ (M or F). Will combine/double these characters to make one larger role for a confident actor – Likely to just be called ‘Marshall’ or similar.
Please note that some of these roles are minor yet very important. Girls who have minor roles will be heavily involved in the court case movement and the preamble piece involving the dancing in the woods.
Nettie is seeking a sound and lighting tech to operate during the run and a stage manager.
Also check out other Arts events in Brighton, Theatre events in Brighton, Performances in Brighton.
