Richard was magnificent as John Proctor: in the final, heart-shattering scenes, Proctor achieves a broken yet majestic greatness, and so does his wife Elizabeth, wonderfully played by Anna Madeley. My heart broke for them. Samantha Colley was a sizzling Abigail, drunk with her new-found power. The rest of the cast were all absolutely brilliant too. What a chilling masterpiece this play is. It works on so many levels, and has so much resonance for today. This review in the Telegraph sums up my opinion perfectly:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/thea ... iller.html
The director, Yaël Farber, knew what she was about: in one scene, Proctor strips to the waist in order to wash himself after a day's farming.
(Hellooooooo, fangirls!) I had a very nice view of Richard's back. 
Well, honestly, why not. 
But that aside: this was electrifying, emotionally shattering theatre. Wow.
Long running time: the play began at 7:30 and ended at 11:00!! Absolutely riveting from beginning to end.
[Oh, and seeing this makes up for not being able to get tickets for Kate Bush's sold-out concert.
Which has got amazing reviews this morning!]