30 PLAYS IN 30 DAYS: Play #7 "Marat/Sade" By Peter Weiss, Translated by Geoffrey Skelton, Verse Adaptation by Adrian Mitchell

 

I have decided for the month of September to read 30 plays in 30 days. It is my belief that, if possible, a play should be read in one sitting to get a better inherent sense of the dramatic arc. Each day, I will write a short post here about the play of the day.

Play #7

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 by Peter Weiss, with the English translation by Geoffey Skelton, and verse adaptation by Adrian Mitchell (The title is most often shortened to Marat/Sade in conversation about the piece for obvious reasons)

I realized I had never read the script for Marat/Sade but had only seen a few scenes from Peter Brook's film adaptation, which have faded from memory if I am being honest. Though I have read many raves about the film adaptation, and I am sure it is good as Peter Brook directed the initial productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1964 that moved to Broadway in 1965, one can't help but feel that so much of what makes the script so vibrant and almost dangerous is that it is a quintessential play-within-a-play format--- it's just that the play within the play is being performed by inmates of an asylum. 

Peter Weiss's script is clearly inspired by Brecht, and the text and Peter Brook's direction of the play in its English translation were inspired by Antonin Artaud's "Theatre of Cruelty", a type of theater designed to shock the audience with movement and gesture different sensory disruptions. It was Artaud's belief that such things were more visceral and important than text. Marat/Sade, in many ways, is a meeting point for the best worlds of Brecht and Artaud, for the text is certainly important here. 

I won't go into a huge history lesson here, but the play is set in an asylum in 1808 as the Marquis de Sade (far too much about the real guy to go into here, but, yes, sadism is named for him), is putting on a production of the execution of Jean-Paul Marat, which occurred July 13, 1793, during the French Revolution, of which  Marat was a prominent figure. He was assassinated by Charlotte Corday. Again, I won't go too deeply into the history surrounding the play, but I encourage one to research the story of Charlotte Corday and the death of Marat--- there's even a haunting painting that is recreated in tableau near the end of this script. 

So Sade is putting on his play, which is actually something based in history. The director of the asylum, Coulmier (who is also a character in the play, a Napoleon fan), did allow the Marquis de Sade to put on plays in the asylum for the education and rehabilitation of the patients. 

Essentially, in the most basic terms, the play is about revolution, and the philosophical differences between Marat and Sade. Sade argues a more individualistic belief--- he spent much of his life in and out of prisons, including five years in the Bastille. His works did often deal with sexuality, violence, blasphemy, and he was a firm believer in freedom unrestrained by morality. Marat, who spends much of the play in the bath due to his skin disease, believes that true change comes in the upheaval of society, the chaos being an important step, but then brought back by a leader (not a dictator).  The play is largely a thematic discussion about revolution truly means. In this way, I am surprised it is not produced more often these days--- I think it could really strike some interesting conversation. 

But what I love most about the play is its energy, the setting in the asylum, and that it is intended to step in and out of the moment to unsettle the audience. The device is powerful, at times very funny, but also unnerving. 

I can't speak for the original German, sadly, but Geoffrey Skelton's translation and Adrian Mitchell's verse adaptation is lyrical and thought-provoking. My pen was busy underlining lines that really struck a nerve with me, or that I found beautiful. 

The Marquis de Sade says near the end:

"Our play's chief aim has been-- to take to bits

great propositions and their opposites,

see how they work, then let them fight it out."

And that may be the best summation one could give.