Marat/Sade
Marat/Sade | |
---|---|
sado-masochism | |
Genre | A play with music |
Setting | Charenton Asylum, France 1808 |
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 (German: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgruppe des Hospizes zu Charenton unter Anleitung des Herrn de Sade), usually shortened to Marat/Sade (pronounced [ma.ʁa.sad]), is a 1963 play by Peter Weiss. The work was first published in German.
Incorporating dramatic elements characteristic of both Antonin Artaud and Bertolt Brecht, it is a depiction of class struggle and human suffering that asks whether true revolution comes from changing society or changing oneself.
Plot
Set in the historical
The Marquis de Sade, the man after whom
Musical score
Marat/Sade is a play with music. The use of music follows the approach of Brecht, whereby the songs comment on themes and issues of the play. Unlike a traditional musical format, the songs do not further the plot or expositional development of character in the play. By contrast they often add an
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Marat_Sade_at_UCSD_2005.jpg/250px-Marat_Sade_at_UCSD_2005.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Peter_Weiss%27_Marat_Sade_at_SUNY_2008.jpg/250px-Peter_Weiss%27_Marat_Sade_at_SUNY_2008.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Marat-sade-note01.jpg/250px-Marat-sade-note01.jpg)
Recordings of the songs were made by the cast of the original Royal Shakespeare Company production and film. The first recording of the show was a three-LP set released in 1964 by
The third release was a CD compilation of two 1966 Brook/Peaslee Royal Shakespeare Company productions: Marat/Sade and US, released by Premier Recordings. The songs included on this 1992 CD were:
- Homage to Marat
- The Corday Waltz
- Song and Mime of Corday's Arrival in Paris
- The People's Reaction
- Those Fat Monkeys
- Poor Old Marat
- One Day It Will Come to Pass
- Poor Marat in Your Bathtub Seat
- Poor Old Marat (Reprise)
- Copulation Round
- Fifteen Glorious Years (interpolating the "Marseillaise")
- Finale
This track listing omits Royal Anthem (which appears on all other recordings) and does not specifically mention The Tumbrel Song either individually or as a part of Song and Mime of Corday's Arrival in Paris. The cast of this recording includes
Productions
In 1964 the play was translated by Geoffrey Skelton with lyric adaptation by Adrian Mitchell and staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Peter Brook directed a cast that included Ian Richardson as the herald, Clive Revill as Marat, Patrick Magee as de Sade and Glenda Jackson as Charlotte Corday.
After two previews, the
The play won the
In Australia, the play was directed by
Other notable productions
- The first production, following the opening on Broadway in 1965, was presented in the summer of 1966 at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. It was the first play in a four play season for Missouri Reperatory Theatre. The production was directed by Dr. Patricia McIlrath, and playing the lead, Marat was Joeseph Brockett.
- In 1967, Clayton Garrison's production for Irvine Repertory Theatre featured actors Bob Gunton and Robert Cohen along with Oakley Hall III. Cohen later edited the 1998 publication of the play.[1][2]
- In October 1969 the Virginia Museum Theater (VMT) opened its season with the play directed by latitudinarianism."[4]
- In 2006 The Blue House Theater Company presented Marat/Sade at the Sacred Fools theater in Los Angeles. The production was directed by Patrick J. Adams with an original score by Joshua Charney. It won an LA Weekly Theater Award for production of the year.[5][6]
- An all-male production of the play was presented in 2007 at the Classical Theatre of Harlem in New York, under the direction of Christopher McElroen.[7]
- In 2011 the Royal Shakespeare Company staged a revival of the play as part of the company's 50th anniversary celebrations. The revival was directed by Anthony Neilson and ran from 14 October to 11 November.[8]
- American composer Mary McCarty Snow (1928–2012) composed music for a Texas Tech University production of Marat/Sade.[9]
- In 2012, the play was staged at Brava Theatre in San Francisco, produced by Marc Huestis and directed by Russell Blackwood with his company Thrillpeddlers.[10]
Film adaptation
The 1967 film adaptation featured many of the original players from the American production. The long version of the play's title is shown in the film's opening credits, although this was frequently shortened to Marat/Sade in publicity materials. The screenplay was written by Adrian Mitchell and directed by Peter Brook. The cast included Richardson, Magee, Jackson, Jones, and Clifford Rose.[11]
See also
- Madah-Sartre, a play by Alek Baylee Toumi, inspired by Marat/Sade
References
- ^ "UC Irvine to Stage Marat-Sade Drama". Los Angeles Times. November 2, 1967.
- ISBN 9780826409621.
- ^ Kass, Carole (February 9, 1975). "Play Prompts Praise...". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia: Berkshire Hathaway.
- ^ "The Thing at the Museum", Richmond News Leader, October 10, 1969.
- ^ "Theatre Awards Listings". www.tcg.org. Archived from the original on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- )
- ^ Midgette, Anne (February 21, 2007). "Testing the Limits and Cost of Revolution". The New York Times.
- ^ "Marat / Sade". RSC. 2011-11-05. Archived from the original on 2011-12-28. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
- ISBN 978-0-88680-266-0.
- ^ Chad Jones (July 12, 2022). "'Marat/Sade' revival at S.F.'s Brava Theatre".
- ^ "Variety review of the film". Allbusiness.com. 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
Bibliography
- Weiss, Peter (1964). 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 (First ed.). London: John Calder. OCLC 229125614.
External links
- 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 at the Internet Broadway Database