Shaw's Saint Joan sincere, passionate and convincing

By Tom Masters & Sharon Stocco
Chemainus Courier
May 2008

One of the greatest of Irish/English playwrights, George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin in 1856 and died at his home, Ayot St. Lawrence, in Hertfordshire, U.K. in 1950, of complications from a fall while working in his garden.

He wrote what some regard as his masterpiece, "Saint Joan," in 1923, in part as an attempt to revive his reputation which had suffered as a result of his opposition to British participation in World War I. It was also a response to the Catholic Church's canonization of Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake in 1431 at the age of nineteen after leading French armies to victory over English invaders.

The play was a factor in Shaw's being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925.He accepted the prize, but donated the money to another cause, with the comment, "I can forgive Alfred Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize."

The stark simplicity of Chemainus Theatre Festival's production of Saint Joan provides a canvas on which both the broad strokes and fine detail of Joan of Arc's brief career and final downfall plays out against the passions and politics of 15th century France.

Director Sarah Rodgers is no stranger to the Chemainus stage, having directed last year's "A Christmas in Wales. "To take on a play constructed around the rise of nationalism and the conflicting roles of church and state is a challenge indeed. And Rodgers handles both its intellectual and its human side with equal skill. There is humour as well as tragedy here and the well-chosen cast carries this off with energy and style.

This is the story of Joan a peasant girl from Lorraine who heeds the 'voices' that she attributes to God, leads the French army to victory and ensures the weak and crafty heir to the French throne is crowned at Rheims. Shaw maintained that he kept to historical accuracy in depicting Joan and the events of the day; and she is presented here as an intelligent and charismatic character as indeed she must have been.

Shaw's Joan is one of the most difficult of roles and Amber Lewis' portrayal of 'The Maid' is sincere, passionate and convincing. From her naively idealistic beginnings to her later confession and recantation, Lewis offers a finely nuanced portrayal of a girl and young woman who is both frail and heroic, vulnerably human and a legend for the ages.

Strong support is offered by the seven men in the cast, each of whom must take on multiple roles and personalities. Two standouts are CTF veterans William Roth, in particular as the blustering and manipulative Robert de Baudricourt, and David Thomson as both Archbishop and Inquisitor. Thomson's statement of the position of the Church at the trial of Joan is a masterpiece of oratory in a setting of confusion and violent passions.

Those who might be uneasy about the dark nature of the story need not be concerned. We never see the final conflagration; in the end we observe only the impact the dreadful verdict has on those who have turned against a young woman who sought merely to serve her God, her king and her people.

"Saint Joan" runs until May 17, then reopens on June 7 in repertory with "South Pacific" until July 26.

Tom Masters is a writer and resident of Chemainus.

Joan of Arc production is a must-see for people who love heroic tales

By Lynn Welburn
The Star
May 3, 2008

Joan of Arc has long been a heroine to girls, not least because of all the many female figures in history; she was almost the only one who got to play the more exciting boy's games. No wonder she had so much appeal and, if, as with many a hero/ine, she wound of paying the ultimate price for her outrageous behaviour, it was at least a romantic and thrilling end.

Chemainus Theatre Festival's production of George Bernard Shaw's "Saint Joan", which runs until May 17 and then reopens June 7 to run in summer repertory with South Pacific, offers just that kind of a romantic heroine.

Amber Lewis is utterly convincing as the peasant girl who hears voices and believes them to be saints and angels who tell her the word of God. This conviction permits her to talk freely with nobles and even the heir to the throne of France and, more importantly, to convince them to allow her to head the army in its fight to rid French soil of the English army.

But as she fights, wins and gains her dream -- to fulfill what she sees as God's purpose for her nation -- the nobles and clergy are busy in the background also seeing that their ideas, or God's as they seem them, are being fulfilled and that includes, ultimately, the destruction of this unseemly upstart who wears men's clothing, shows little respect for rank or noble birth and who says she has what all the clergy secretly dream of -- the ear of the Creator.

The ensemble cast is very strong with people like David Thomson, William Groth and Jeff Gladstone, among others. You can't help but just hate some of them . . . which is as it should be in this story of betrayal by the very people who should have protected Joan.

But huge kudos also to costume designer Krista Sung for simple elegant styles and to lighting director William Mackwood who turned an essentially empty stage into everything from battlefield to court, to dungeon to pyre with amazing lighting.

For tickets to Saint Joan, call the Chemainus box office at 1-800-565-7738 or check it out online at www.chemainustheatrefestival.ca.

And don't forget to enjoy the Playbill Dining Room's buffet before your evening or matinee show.

LWelburn@nanaimodailynews.com
250-729-4242