The Crucible

…this International Festival premiere is everything you want it to be: dramatically cogent, compact and clear, starkly handsome (the costumes are by Emma Kingsbury, who shares credit for the set with the chief lighting designer David Finn), superbly scored by a composer, who eerily happens to be named Peter Salem, and beautifully danced. In short, with this bewitchingly good touring production Scottish Ballet has a hit on its hands.

Peter Salem’s score ingeniously intertwines solemn, liturgical sounds with rich melodies and discordant electronic passages, bringing to life the community’s fear of the supernatural, creating an other-worldliness. The low strings and percussion build unease and tension, then seamlessly evolve into rich, melodic accompaniments to the Proctor’s pas de deux. The incorporation of sound effects throughout, from familiar church and courtroom sounds to whispers, screams and bird calls, mirrors the fear of the encroachment of the supernatural into the community of Salem and the distrust among its population.