The Spot will stage ‘The Revolutionists’
BY DANA DUGAN
Historical plays with only women as the protagonists is a rare thing to find on stage, even today. But The Spot, the alternative theatre company in Ketchum, has never shied away from the rare or the novel. Penned by playwright Lauren Gunderson and directed by Natalie Battistone, “The Revolutionists” will be staged from Thursday, Jan. 24, to Sunday, Feb. 2, at The Spot in Ketchum.
The play brings together three iconic French feminists, playwright Olympe de Gouges, deposed queen Marie Antoinette, and assassin Charlotte Corday. Joining these ladies is an imagined activist, Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle.
“Marianne is a composite of a lot of revolutionaries of the time,” said Savina Barini, who plays her. “The Haitian revolution is tied to the French revolution. But even within Haiti, what women were doing was not well documented. She is a composite of all that was happening at the same time.”
The action takes place in 1793 during the Reign of Terror, a bloody time when French revolutionaries arrested not just the royal family, but political activists, such as these women, who were sent to the guillotine.
For many, the story of this time is told through the names and lives of the famous men involved, from Robespierre and Danton to Marat, who Corday assassinated. But women were instrumental throughout the revolution, and many lost their lives for speaking out.
Gunderson describes her play as a “a moment in history where the rich and poor were light-years apart in lifestyle, the country was in multiple wars, the debt was huge, the workers overtaxed, trust in the government was nil, the leaders were corrupt, and greed, racism, sexism, poverty, violence, extremism… the only difference between them and us is the year and the continent.”
“The Revolutionists” is a comedy, though a brutal one.
“The characters do not know they’re in a comedy,” Battistone said. “The stakes are too high to even wait for the punchline.”
Gunderson has said that being amused while being scared is a powerful thing.
Power also comes in the form of the imprisoned Marie Antoinette, played by Yanna Lantz.
There is such a “plethora of information to dive into, it’s a real gift,” Battistone said. “Marie is truly a legend, and I hope to do her justice.”
Indeed, the play presents the overexposed queen in new and inspiring ways.
The women knew about each other peripherally, but in reality never met. Indeed, the premise of the play is that four brave women had a lot to say, especially to each other.
“The play is constructed in a unique way,” Battistone explained.
Though it begins with an execution, the characters carry on, ghostlike.
“The characters are so compelling; these different women in one space at the same time,” she said. “I love contrast and it’s beyond contrast. There’s the inevitability of their circumstance. They are aware of who they are.”
Ingrid Werner, a Norwegian actor from Oslo, plays Olympe de Gouges. It’s in her perspective the audience finds itself.
As a political activist, women’s rights advocate and playwright, Olympe may be seen as a stand-in for Gunderson, who over the past few years has built a national reputation with works that center on women’s stories.
“It’s a dream fugue— Olympe is into her head space, creating these characters,” Werner said. “It reads as very modern, which opens it up to a broader audience and makes it more accessible. You leave here feeling something.”
Other aspects that make the play feel contemporary are its colloquial language as well as the deconstructed costumes: Ceci n’est pas un hoop skirt (this is not a hoop skirt).
“This play feels so now,” said Aly Wepplo, who plays Charlotte Corday. “It’s not like plays we’ve seen before. It’s funny and thought-provoking and heartbreaking all at once.”
Wepplo’s character is radical. Only 25, Corday stabbed inflammatory writer Marat in his bath in July 1793. At the time, Corday said she’d killed “one man to save 100,000.”
“It’s intimidating,” Wepplo said. “Some audience members have never heard of these characters. But it’s important to me to show that these figures were real people who fought to protect what they believe in.”
Battistone, who is herself gaining a reputation in the Valley for directing compelling productions, cites author Brené Brown on the intersectionality of people; how coming together with all our imperfections and differences, whether in protest or theatre, can bring us to hope and unity.
“This play is a send-up to those who met the guillotine,” Battistone said. “We’re honoring them in a way. Maybe even sending them love.”
For tickets to “The Revolutionists,” visit thespotsunvalley.com.