Comprehensive Workshop

When a single juror stands up against peer pressure and votes “Not Guilty” in a seemingly open and shut case it becomes clear why jurors need to deliberate and discuss the case before them.

The defendant is the faceless other – all we know about the defendant is that they are poor, yet the process reveals how both the jurors and the audience project their prejudices onto that person. In addition to unpacking the narrative, the workshop investigates the construction of characters and other dramatic elements, to present a reading of the play as a study in the power of language and one’s ability to create persuasive arguments.

The Crucible is a partially fictionalised account of the witch trials that took place in Salam Massachusetts in 1692-93. Miller wrote the play as an allegory for the way the US government persecuted people accused of being communists during the McCathy era. 

John Proctor is often thought of as the play’s protagonist. His journey through the play foretold what would happen to Miller himself when he was called before The House of representatives’ committee on Un-American activities. The Crucible ends with Proctor’s final act of resistance – going to the gallows for refusing to point the finger at others. In 1956 Miller was convicted of contempt of congress for refusing to give names of his colleagues to the committee. 

Beyond the link to the McCarthy era – the play is worthy of study for its narrative and characters alone. Our workshop investigates critiques deepening the question whether Proctor is really a hero and the way female characters in the text are portrayed.

The tale of Medea’s vicious revenge killing of her children strikes at symbols deeply rooted in our culture. Medea is a feminist hero – cutting off patriarchal power at its source as she steals Jason’s heirs. Equally, she is a demon witch and personification of the havoc wreaked by uncontrolled emotions. The workshop explores key character scenes as well as questions about the chorus and stylistics of Greek drama.