The Verdict
What Do London Critics Think of John Proctor Is the Villain?
The work, a modern reexamination of Arthur Miller's The Crucible set at a rural Georgia high school, made a Broadway debut last season.
March 27, 2026 By Margaret Hall
John Proctor is the Villain officially opened in London at the Royal Court Theatre March 26, and the reviews are rolling in! The play, which completed its thrice-extended Broadway run at the Booth Theatre September 7, 2025, will play the Royal Court through April 25.
Directed by Danya Taymor, the production is a direct transfer of Kimberly Belflower's play as seen last season on Broadway, produced by Wagner Johnson Productions, Wessex Grove, Sonia Friedman Productions, Runyonland, and John Mara Jr.
The London production stars Lauryn Ajufo as Nell Shaw, Charlie Borg as Lee Turner, Reece Braddock as Mason Adams, Dónal Finn as Carter Smith, Holly Howden Gilchrist as Beth Powell, Clare Hughes as Ivy Watkins, Miya James as Raelynn Nix, Molly McFadden as Bailey Gallagher, and Sadie Soverall as Shelby Holcomb.
Read the reviews below.
The Financial Times (Sarah Hemming)
The Independent (Alice Saville)
The New Statesman (Emily Lawford)
The Telegraph (Claire Allfree)
*This review may require creating a free account or a paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
The work, a modern reexamination of Arthur Miller's The Crucible set at a rural Georgia high school, was commissioned by The Farm Theater in 2017. Following workshops at Farm Theater and Ojai Playwrights Conference, the play premiered at Centre College in 2018, and became a cult favorite due to numerous regional and college productions, including productions at Furman University, Rollins College, Washington D.C.'s Studio Theatre, and Boston's Huntington.
The Royal Court production features scenography by AMP featuring Teresa Williams, costume design by Sarah Laux, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design and original composition by Palmer Hefferan, projection design by Hannah Wasileski, hair and make-up design by J. Jared Janas, and movement direction by Tilly Evans-Kreuger. The voice and dialect coach will be Gigi Buffington, the casting director is Julia Horan, and dramaturgy is by Lauren Halvorsen. The associate director is Yanni Ng.
John Proctor is the Villain was nominated for seven 2025 Tony Awards, including Best Play, Direction of a Play, Lighting Design of a Play, Sound Design of a Play, and three performance categories, including Leading Actress in a Play for Sink, Featured Actor in a Play for Gabriel Ebert, and Featured Actress in a Play for Fina Strazza.
Visit RoyalCourtTheatre.com.
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