I WAS warned.

I was warned as I found my seat at the Powell Theatre last night that it would be intense few hours ahead.

And intense it was. But it wouldn't have been right if The Crucible, performed by Herefordshire’s Exit Fool Productions, was anything else.

I’ll confess I wasn’t familiar with the story – the 1999 film starring Winona Ryder and Daniel Day Lewis had passed me by – but I was looking forward to finding out more about the story which I did know was based on the Salem witch trials.

Written by American playwright Arthur Miller, in 1953, the Crucible is a dramatised and partially fictionalised story of the trials which took place in 1692 and 1693, written as an allegory of McCarthyism in the United States.

Married man John Proctor (Anthony Jenkins) upsets young Abigail Williams (Eva-Jean Wright) when he breaks off their brief affair and she  she becomes the ringleader of a group of teenage girls accusing other local women of witchcraft.

It becomes apparent - though not to everyone - that Abigail has a different agenda but there's little room for argument when you're either 'for or against the court' - there's no middle ground in such dark times.

The Powell Theatre, on Church Street, was an intimate setting for what was often an intensely dramatic performance, bringing the courtroom drama to the audience.

It was powerful, moving, entirely gripping and incredibly well acted.

Anthony Jenkins offered an emotional portrayal of John Proctor, capturing the guilt and sheer frustration he faces as the story unfolds while the teenager accusers, notably Eva-Jean Wright as Abigail, demonstrated an eery sense of hysteria as they spoke in unison and howled in the courtroom.

Other notable performances came from Pete Bird as Reverend Parris, Katy Dalton as Mary Warren and Emily Love as Elizabeth Proctor.

That said, it's unfair not to mention every member of an extremely talented and professional cast. 

The flickering candlelight not only helped create an atmosphere, it also served as a reminder of what was a dark time for society. What was good was fragile and could be extinguished simply by words. 

It’s not a happy ending – in fact it was heartbreakingly sad. But something about the fact that the decision behind it was inherently good was comforting.

The Crucible runs at The Powell Theatre from Wednesday, December 2 to Saturday, December 5 at 7pm. Tickets are available on the door or from The Outback on Church Street.