Overview
Synopsis
Set in the Asylum of Charenton, Peter Weiss's play shows inmates of the mental facility re-enacting the last days of political agitator Jean Paul Marat's life fifteen years earlier. The play within the play has been written and directed by the Marquis de Sade, a fellow inmate at the asylum. In the lead up to Marat’s brutal murder in his bathtub at the hands of Charlotte Corday, Sade takes his audience on an examination of power, social hierarchy, suffering, and human nature. As such, Sade not only runs the play but uses it as a means to instruct society at large. Peter Brooks’ notorious staging of the play in 1964 sent shockwaves through British theatre and Marat/Sade remains as innovative, controversial, and thought-provoking today.
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Context
The full name of the play is 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 but it is usually shortened to Marat/Sade. It was first published in German in 1963 under its original German translation title. The following year, the play was translated by Geoffrey Skelton (with lyric adaptation by Adrian Mitchell) and staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company under the leadership of the
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Act One
In the bath hall of an asylum at Charenton, the Marquis de Sade is busy making last minute preparations for a play he has written. The parts will be played by the inmates and the audience consists of Coulmier, the director of the asylum, his family, and other members of the French aristocracy. Coulmier introduces the play, proud of the modern therapies he has introduced at Charenton, including linking education and art.
The play begins with the Herald pointing out the main
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Character Portrayals
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Key Terms
Relating to the theatrical style of Bertolt Brecht, emphasizing social critique and distancing the audience from emotional immersion.
A major historical event that provides a backdrop for political and period drama focusing on upheaval and transformation.
Spoken commentary that provides exposition or transitions within a play. Narration often bridges scenes and guides audience understanding.
An experimental movement by Antonin Artaud seeking to shock audiences and disrupt traditional theatre conventions.
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher