In a Puritan settlement at the edge of the known world, Hester Prynne has broken the rules and the evidence is in her arms. Branded with a scarlet A and pushed to the margins, she is offered one way back: name the father of her child.

She refuses.

Kate Hamill, one of America’s most-produced playwrights, strips Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel back to its burning core. What remains is taut and gripping, a story of love, secrets and revenge in a community where everyone is watching and no one is innocent.

Hester’s neighbours pray, gossip and judge. Her husband nurses a secret grudge. Her lover hides in plain sight. And her daughter, Pearl, sees everything.

Nearly four centuries on, we still decide who gets shamed and who gets forgiven.

The question is no longer what Hester did. It’s what we’d do to her.

Clary Riven director

Presented by JMC Academy

Image: Steven Mitchell Wright