The Crucible was rehearsed and performed at the Birmingham Rep Theatre, but it was always intended that the production would tour to regional theatres. To take a production involving more than twenty actors and a
massive steel-framed wooden set to
six very different theatres in as many weeks was a huge logistical operation requiring
many design considerations. As the trucks arrived at the theatre, usually early on a Sunday morning prior to the opening of the show the next evening, the stage crew would unload the scenery and begin the process of reassembling it onto a new stage. At the same time, other members of the technical crew would be unloading the costumes and organising the lighting to ensure that the right number of lanterns were in the right places.
As for the actors, they too had to ensure that they were in the right place. In the past, touring was much more commonplace than it is today, and companies of actors travelled together, usually by train, from town to town taking their scenery and costumes with them. Today actors usually make their own travel arrangements and they also have to find accommodation (‘digs’) and inevitably these produce hilarious stories of actors facing the wrath of fierce landlords. Actor Sarah Beharrel kept an
audio diary during the touring, documenting her experiences on
The Crucible tour.
Touring is hard work for everyone, but it is also fascinating since
audiences respond differently in different parts of the country. The actors must adapt to the
personality of each audience, as well as to the technical differences in the new theatre such as the
acoustics. The first performance of the play in a new location is another ‘first night’ with all the added tension and excitement that brings with it.
