House of the Dragon star Milly Alcock will make her West End debut in June, starring in Lyndsey Turner’s acclaimed reimagining of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
“To say it’s a dream come true to work on such an iconic play with such a distinguished theatre company is an understatement,” said Alcock. “I am beyond thrilled.”
Alcock will play orphan Abigail, one of the play’s principal characters. Further casting is yet to be announced.
The 1953 play, which is now deemed an American classic, is loosely based on the 17th century Salem witch trials. Abigail is the lead member of a group of young girls who accuse members of their village of witchcraft to distract from the fact that they themselves dabble with magic.
Things get even darker when Abigail gets revenge on the man she has been having an affair with by throwing accusations of witchcraft at his wife.
This is the second run of award-winning director Lyndsey Turner’s acclaimed National Theatre production. When Turner’s production first opened last Autumn, The Standard loved it.
“Arthur Miller’s 1953 study of public vilification and herd behaviour feels freshly relevant in Lyndsey Turner’s production,” said Nick Curtis. “The play remains a bona fide classic; always the same, always new. And Turner’s production rolls over us with the remorseless, implacable intent of a bulldozer.”
Turner, the third female director in history to receive an Olivier Award (for the Royal Opera House’s Chimerica in 2014), has made five other plays with the National Theatre and has made plays with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and for the West End and Broadway.
She is backed up by a stellar team: Tony Award-winner Es Devlin will design the set again as she did in the Autumn, and Catherine Fay is on board as costume designer – her credits include designing for operas Semele, The Return of Ulysses and Owen Wingrave for Opera Collective Ireland and production Translations, Portia Coughlan, iGirl, Walls and Windows.
Award-winning lighting designer Tim Lutkin is also onboard as is sound designer Tingying Dong, sound designer Christopher Shutt and Grammy and Pulitzer-prize winning composer and arranger, Caroline Shaw.
22-year-old Alcock is best known for starring in HBO’s Game of Thrones spin-off series, House of the Dragon, for which she was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award. Most recently she starred in Australian comedy Upright alongside Tim Minchin.
