Joan, Again (subtlenuance, SITCo) runs at the Old Fitzroy Theatre
from 5-23 August 2014. Written and directed by Paul Gilchrist.
In 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Ten years
later, in a quiet little village known mostly for making cushions (“where
France learns to sleep!”), she has returned. Or has she?
Joan, Again explores the power of narrative as a way
of understanding the world. Every character in the play knows the story of
Joan, and on each of them, it has had a different effect. For gregarious
Bernadette (Bonnie Kellett), Joan represents the promise of power, righteousness,
and agency: the story of a girl who has done something is deeply inspiring for
a girl who has been able to do so little. For her mother Isabelle (Helen
Tonkin), Joan represents war, a monstrous horror which stole her son from her.
The story of Joan reminds Gerard (James Collette) of all the things he did and
did not do when he was at the Siege of Orleans. It is a great example of how a
story is somehow more than itself: that it is polysemic, containing many
layers, and that it can be interpreted and read many ways. When Joan or someone
claiming to be her (Sylvia Keays) appears in the village, all these disparate
readings of her story are thrown into sharp relief.
I think there were some really clever ideas underpinning Joan,
Again. I’m very interested in the polysemic nature of narrative in my
academic work, and it was exciting to see it explored in such an interesting
way here. I was particularly intrigued by the way that the work put the
emphasis on women’s stories, particularly in the first act. Throughout the
play, the female characters are continually being told to be quiet by the male
ones – that speaking is not feminine. The play opens begin with a collection of
four female characters talking (and talking about how they talk too much).
Throwing Joan – that woman who dared not only to speak, but to speak to kings
and armies and to God himself – into that mix was very potent indeed.
Sadly, I think this element of the story fell away a bit in
the second act, as stories about God and the politics of the church became more
important. Overall, while I was very interested in the way Joan, Again
dealt with questions of narrative, I think there was just too much stuff
in the play for it to be really effective. It was kind of ironic that in a play
so focused on the power of narrative that the narrative was obscured. This was
mostly because there were simply too many words. I know I say this about a lot
of shows (and it is obviously indicative of my own theatrical preferences), but
at two and a half hours, this show was too long. If it had been cut down
to about ninety minutes, I think it could have been scintillating. Pared back,
with some of the unnecessary dialogue stripped away, and maybe less indulgence
in one-liners (the play is very, very funny is some places, but I think
sometimes this came at the expense of the pacing), Joan, Again could
have been an absolute bombshell.
As it is, it’s still quite an absorbing play. There are some
great performances, particularly from Helen Tonkin as Isabelle and Sylvia
Keays, who is luminescent as Joan. It’s a very thoughtful piece of theatre.
However, it could definitely have been improved if the really interesting
thoughts that underpin it had been allowed to shine through the web of verbiage
a little more.
