From the Smith College Publicity Office

On March 1-2 and 7-9, a production of Peter Weiss’ Marat/Sade, the story of a group of inmates in post-revolutionary France, will be performed at Smith College’s Hallie Flanagan Studio Theater. The play is directed by senior Emma Weinstein.

In Weinstein’s conception of Marat/Sade, which originally debuted in 1963, the setting is a Juvenile Detention Center for Girls, and the cast and characters are all female. The play follows a group of inmates who perform a violent, unflinchingly truthful narrative of the revolution, and incorporates such themes as class, sexuality, and madness.  “I want to explore the ways in which women relate to political revolution and violence, not just as victims but as perpetrators, participants and philosophers,” said Weinstein.

The performance includes a full score and on-stage instrumentation. To heighten the realism of the experience, audience members will enter through the loading dock of the theater and pass through prison checkpoints.

Weinstein has directed numerous productions at Smith, including Noel Coward’s Private Lives and a Student Theatre Production of Tis of Thee. She also co-directed an adaption of the Occupy Movement-inspired Waiting for Lefty at the National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center.

Marat/Sade will begin at 8:00 PM (Hallie Flanagan Studio Theater, Mendenhall Center for the Arts).  Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and students.

Photo courtesy of whatleydude via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.