Marat/Sade

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 characters in the play: Sade, Jean-Paul Marat (who is placed in his bath), and Charlotte Corday. Beside them are Duperret (who desperately wants to get his hands on Corday) and radical priest, Jacques Roux. The Herald explains that Corday has come to Paris specifically to murder Marat. At this moment, the ensemble launch into an homage to Marat, noting his prominent role in the French Revolution and ending with the refrain:
Marat, we’re poor and the poor stay poor/Marat don’t make us wait any more/ We want