Remember learning about Jeanne d’Arc in history at school? The 17-year-old illiterate peasant, who in 1429 led the French army that raised the Siege of Orleans and two years later, following a bout of both victories and losses, was burned on a stake?
Well, believe it or not, in the 20 years following her death, there were at least four ‘Joan’ impostors (who clearly had their work cut out convincing people they had been saved from a burning pyre by the archangel Michael).
This is where Paul Gilchrist’s play, Joan, Again, begins. Taking the audience back in time to a war-ravaged France and the suspicions and disdain the majority of the peasant class felt towards the church, Joan, Again is a slice of revolutionary history. Claiming to be Joan of Arc, Sylvia Keays goes about convincing her admirers and skeptics that she is the real deal. Unsurprisingly, however, she is met with a great deal of disbelief and cynicism for her claims – a story that beautifully unravels thanks to Gilchrist’s narrative talents.
Through sharp and at times poetic dialogue, the play explores the danger of stories and challenges the traditional beliefs that society (both past and present day) harbours in regards to religion and spirituality. Keays’powerful soliloquies and commanding onstage presence are captivating and the rustic set and historical costumes really do take you back in time.
The relatively large cast, featuring Kit Bennett, Jamie Collette, Ted Crosby, Kitty Hopwood, Lynden Jones, Bonnie Kellett, Dave Kirkham and Helen Tonkin, all works fabulously together and cleverly melds the play’s serious undertones and tongue-in-cheek humour, with even a little bit of sordidness thrown in for good measure.
With lines such as, “God’s style, is like, not being here,” and “The desire for fame is a form of suicide,” Joan, Again is a clever adaptation of a fascinating piece of history that leaves you questioning the seemingly impossible and counting your lucky stars we don’t burn influential people on stakes in Australia.
3/5 stars
Joan, Again is playing at the Old Fitzroy Theatre until Saturday August 23.
