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Marianne Eliott interviewed about Saint Joan

Shaw the Modernist
Marianne Elliott

When I read the play I was stunned by what an amazing woman Joan was. Shaw says she is the female equivalent of Hamlet, and it's true. She's struggling with massive life and philosophical choices, and what it means to do the right thing. But unlike Hamlet she's very young and incredibly active. Her life is short, fast and furious, and it changes the course of history.

The joy of her is that she has so many different sides: visionary, warrior, peasant girl. Luckily records were kept of the trial, because she was such a celebrity. We have a lot of information about this girl who lived in the 1400s, and Shaw was able to make direct use of the transcripts in the trial scene.

If you're interested in ideas and debate, there's a huge amount in the play, regardless of whether you're religious. It's a fascinating piece, because it swings from left to right all the time. Shaw keeps you on your toes, so you're not sure where your sympathies lie. It's not obvious what you're meant to think or feel: he's very even- handed and fair. He didn't want there to be villains hounding a pure white virgin who is godly and divine, he wanted to make it more human.

Sometimes with period pieces audiences feel alienated, and think, That happened then, but what has it to do with me? That's not what Shaw wanted, and that's why he wrote the play in very modern, colloquial language. He's making us look at ourselves and say, If Joan were alive today, would we hound her to death in the same way? She's a rebel, and in his view a rebel is not a derogatory term.

The original play is quite long, so we've cut it here and there. Shaw was a raconteur, a fantastic debater and public speaker, who used all sorts of methods to make his points. He was also quite loquacious, and often went round the houses to make them. We've just cut a few of those houses, and also trimmed the Epilogue while keeping its essential argument..

Joan is a very demanding role for an actress; she's only offstage for one scene. I think Anne-Marie has all the elements needed. She's got the youth and the energy, there's something tough and streetwise about her, but she's also very appealing, so one warms to her as a person. She was our first choice for the part.

Marianne Eliott was interviewed by Jonathan Croall