Saint Joan

Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan is split into six scenes, five of which the title character is featured. In each scene, the development of Joan’s character is highlighted by Anne-Marie Duff’s acting, the costuming, the reaction she receives when amongst her peers, and her response to the voices she hears. At the Castle of Vaucouleurs, in February 1429, an enthusiastic Joan triumphs over the hardhearted Robert de Baudricourt, convincing him to allow her to travel with three others to Touraine. Duff’s interpretation of the youthful Joan is convincing; she has a spark in her that is separate from the spark she gets from God. I paid particular attention to how the older actress played a seventeen-year-old, and I must admit that while I wish she had been younger, Duff made me believe. There really was not a build up of her character. From the beginning, Joan is energetic and confident and compelling. Dressed in a maroon dress, it is apparent that she is still Joan of Domrémy, not yet the heroine of France. It is easy to see the opposing sides—her supporters and her challengers—reflected by Bertrand de Poulengey and de Baudricourt, respectively. The former saw the faith Joan had; whereas the latter was more convinced in de Poulengey’s faith in the maid than his own faith in her.

When Joan reaches Chinon, in Touraine, she convinces the Dauphin to give her control of the troops. It is at this point when the Archbishop of Rheims comments on how “she is in love with God.” She has changed into a gray military uniform of sorts. Joan, who now wears the clothing of men, has hardened a bit, but she remains steadfast. By the time she gets to Orléans in April of 1429, she is told that she is “in love with war.” After a mere month from her time spent in Chinon, she has grown up quite a bit, still fervent as ever. She convinces the soldiers of her authority with the change in the winds.

It is after the interval that we see Joan change. The first scene following intermission was the one where Joan was in the Cathedral of Rheims. She crowned the king and then began to speak about taking Paris. Many of her supporters did not want to back her in such an endeavor. The voices had told her to fight so that Charles would be crowned within this cathedral with the oils and robes and such. While a bit of the details were sort of unclear to me, I could already tell that the opposition from Charles was a bad sign. In the first half, he had been the comic relief factor and willing to support her. Joan was becoming more obsessive with the fight, which no one seemed too fond of.

In the final scene, at her trial in Rouen of May 1431, Joan has become a scared little child, stripped of her armor. Delusional rocking, contracting, and muttering were Duff’s physical actions. Duff wonderfully showed the change in Joan’s sanity. However, I did not get the impression that the play argued her craziness. Instead, I like to think that the purpose of Saint Joan was to highlight the obstacles Joan has had to face, namely the Church, her countrymen, and the fact that she was a woman.

NoFit State: ImMortal

Getting out of the tube station, I realized that I was in a part of London that deserved respect. Minutes past the Chalk Farm station is an original Banksy graffiti piece. Banksy is a street artist and his work in the London area is very well known. This particular work of his caught my eye when I was looking at images from his website. I had wanted to go out and find it, knowing only that it was somewhere in Camden. Luckily, the "Maid in London" was directly outside the very theatre that NoFit State: ImMortal production was in. Over the years, others have placed their own graffiti over the original artwork—not as a sign of disrespect, but to symbolize the community aspect of graffiti.

I read that NoFit State was “re-worked and re-developed” through the years. Looking back, that reminds me of the graffiti art I saw. NoFit and the Banksy piece have retained their respective original themes, despite the outward changes. Graffiti itself is very accessible, though rarely considered art, and seldom admired by passersby. In many ways, I could see how someone might say similar things about NoFit’s production. People may argue that the sequences in ImMortal are not theatre, or that the lack of dialogue classifies this production solely as a circus. I think though, that the lack of dialogue was a strength—it put value behind the actions of the performers. The disjointed sequences offered a break from linearity and made me think more about the meaning behind what was going on. We were not at a recital of any sorts. The performers were not there to merely showcase their talents; they were there to transport the audience into a hypnotic, stimulating, sensory world.

What better way to involve the audience than to include them in the heat of the action? One of the most effective decisions NoFit made was to make this a promenade performance. I loved how interactive the show was. I moved multiple times as the ushers made room for the performers and their props. Some of the performers talked to us during the show, some fell in front of our feet, and some bumped into us from behind. Mix this interactive element with the eye-popping arm balancing, hula-hooping, trapeze acts, fire, and water and you have the makings for a wonderful circus experience. Not only that, but being able to walk around the theatre beforehand and experience the lives of the characters was something very unique. In normal theatre, you may have background information included in the plot to reveal more about the story and characters. Here, each individual had the opportunity to observe the characters, walk around with them, and/or have a conversation with them. Because of this, no two people will have had the same experience; every person who walked out of the theatre that night had a unique experience.

I was excited about the show when we talked a little bit about it in class. I became more excited when I saw the Banksy. My excitement peaked when I saw the final sequences of the show. Now, I can hardly think of what was ineffective about it. I wish the voice in the beginning had been clearer, but there was not much I could do about that. If it is not obvious yet, this was probably my favorite thing we have seen.