HOW do you control a population? Create a climate of fear. A fearful and suspicious community is easily manipulated by religious zealots and oppressors.

That’s the message of this play, set in 1692 in the small backwater of Salem in the British colony of Massachusetts.

It was a terrible fear, stoked by the clergy and powerful landowners, which led to 20 deaths, mostly women, hanged for being witches.

Arthur Miller used the tragedy of Salem to warn of the dangers of the McCarthy anti-communist witch hunts that were paralysing the US after the second world war.

That Miller’s masterpiece has endured well into the 21st century is not only a testament to the brilliance of the play but, unfortunately, to the fact that the powerful and corrupt in politics and religion still adopt a climate of fear to manipulate and control.

The Crucible still has the power to shock and Caroline Steinbeis’s excellent direction ratchets up the tension right until the light shining on Elizabeth Proctor’s pleading body is snuffed out.

Matti Houghton gives a splendid yet understated performance as the farmer’s wife, unyielding in face of her tormentors’ demands to confess. Jonjo O’Neill is excellent as her flawed husband John, whose passion rages at the injustice befalling the women which ultimately leads to the gallows.

There is a fine performance too from Tim Steed as the Reverend Hale. Initially determined to find the devil within the women, he quickly comes to realise the fraud that is unfolding. Finally his faith is tested by the horrors being perpetrated by so-called men of God.

Miller has often been accused of underwriting women’s roles but Steinbeis has put them centre stage and manages to draw out their quiet yet powerful dignity. They are strong and confident in their beliefs and are prepared to face certain death for defying church and state.

The play is as important today as it was in 1953. We are living in a time of fear created by our governments, where suspicion is portrayed as a virtue. A careless word, a simple joke or a child bringing a clock to school can lead to arrest and the stigma of terrorism.

Paranoia will destroy our society and Miller’s message needs to be broadcast from the rooftops.

This is a timely and wonderful revival. Go see it and pass on the message — the only thing to fear is fear itself.

Runs Until October 24, box office: royalexchange.co.uk

Review by Paul Foley