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Marat/Sade by Ion Theatre 
Just as it was during the Reign of Terror following the
French Revolution, the inmates are running the asylum. And under Claudio
Raygoza’s direction, we are under their power even before the play begins.
A moribund washwoman of suspicious sanity wordlessly uses her wash water and
body language to herd the audience members from outside the theatre and into a
dimly lit asylum where the loonies lurk in dangerous proximity to us. Large,
bouncer-type male nurses guide us in stops and starts through the room. We have
no control, they are clearly in authority. Finally we are allowed into the
relative safety of the theatre where we take our seats for Ion Theatre’s The
persecution and assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as performed by the inmates of
the asylum of Charenton under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade. AKA, Marat/Sade.
This philosophy-rich play by Peter Weiss pits the Marquis de Sade (the basis for ‘sadist’) in a philosophical debate with Jean-Paul Marat who became disenchanted with the French Revolution when the revolutionaries became hypocrites, turning on each other in vicious power grabs and witch hunts performed in the name of liberty. Much of the philosophizing and references will be lost on all except for those well-versed in Marat and Sade, but there is plenty for the novice to sink their teeth into. The genius lies in the setting, with the inmates putting on the show purportedly written by Sade (Claudio Raygoza) who directs with creepily cold passion, clearly enjoying both his show about Marat’s murder by Charlotte Corday and how it is performed by his neurotic cast. That cast includes Matt Scott as the weary invalid Jean-Paul Marat, spending the entire time writing and verbally expressing his views while huddled in a metal tub, lovingly comforted by his devoted Simonne (Anahid Shahrik). He is stalked by said Charlotte Corday (Julie Sachs) who has to fight off narcolepsy to perform her critical role as she tries to visit Marat three times to voice her mortal grievances. She also has to fight off her own stalker, with the libidinous inmate playing her platonic lover Duperret (Brandon Walker) as an at times amusing but eventually the most disturbing inmate in the play, raping the reluctant but lethargic inmate playing Charlotte while the other inmates and guards are slow to react. Elsewhere, Walter Ritter is the foolish French government official Coulmier attending the play and deeply troubled by the messages being presented by the Marquis de Sade and Jennifer Jonassen is the Herald – leader of the inmates – who tries to comfort Coulmier with tongue-in-cheek assurances that they are depicting problems that France did have but could never happen again because they are so much more civilized now. She also has the job of keeping the inmates in line, a difficult job with this mentally and sexually unbalanced bunch where even the orderlies and nuns only offer occasional facades of sanity.Performs through December 4, 2005.
Rob Hopper ~ Cast ~
John Antonov Eusevio Cordoba Robert Cox Audrey Morgan Delgado Byron Diffenderffer Desiree Echaves Sylvia Enrique Daeg Faerch Monica Flores Jade Folia Kim Hawkins Jennifer Jonassen Trina Kaplan Andrew Kennedy Celeste Martinez Patrick Mayuyu Bogar Pacheco Kym Pappas Walter Ritter Julie Sachs Matt Scott Anahid Shahrik Brian Taraz Brandon Walker Director/Scenic Design: Claudio Raygoza Dramaturgy: Kim Strassburger Choreography: Al Germani Costume Design: Sarah Schneider and Kate Stallons Lighting Design: Mitchell Simkovsky Sound Design: Eusevio Cordoba Stage Manager: Alisa Zeljeznjak |
