Nissan Nattiv Acting Studio is currently presenting Arthur Miller’s landmark play The Crucible, translated by Ehud Manor and directed by Yitzhak Ne’eman. The play describes the Salem Witch Trials, which took place in Massachusetts in 1692 – 3. A dramatic allegory to the “witch hunt” of suspected communists during the McCarthy era in the United States, Miller’s play exposes the fragile and elusive nature of truth, and the ease with which people can be mislead and manipulated by fear, greed, ignorance and arrogance.
Fearing punishment for their youthful transgressions in a highly repressive Puritan society, four girls spin a scary tale of witchcraft. The alacrity with which they begin calling out names, accusing their neighbors, makes for a truly frightening scene. Even in the rather simple quarters of the studio, creative use is made of a scrim to suggest the seething passions underlying Puritan life; the catalyst for this harrowing drama. In some sense, it is a play about the power of acting, and the third year students of Nissan Nattiv do a good job indeed, especially the not-so-innocent victims, Sivan Guy as Elizabeth Proctor, and a stand-out performance by Ori Zaltsman as John Proctor, in all his human weakness and courage.
Performances will take place November 15 & 16th at the Nissan Nattiv Acting Studio on 158 Herzl Street in Tel Aviv at 20:30 (03-5182410), and on Friday, November 18th at Tzavta, 30 Ibn Gvirol Street, Tel Aviv at 13:00 (03-6950156/7).
Send a chill up your spine with this preview from Nissan Nattiv:
