The Revolutionists @ Tree Trunk Theater & The Resolute Theatre Project
—Review by Chris Sanders
For a show that begins and ends with a beheading, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists, produced by Tree Trunk Theater and the Resolute Theatre Project, follows the story of four women in France during the French Revolution: Olympe de Gouges, Charlotte Corday, Marie Antoinette, and Marianne Angelle. And I found myself upset by one thing: Why had I not heard of most of these women before?
All of them were great historical figures, with the exception of Marianne Angelle. She was an amalgamation of various women who aided in the independence of Saint-Domingue, later to be known as my mother’s home country of Haïti. Olympe de Gouges, played by Erin Malone Turner, was a playwright. The connection between character and actor I found to be quite apt. De Gouges was also an activist, women’s rights advocate, and an abolitionist. All of my favorite “A’s” across the board. The play does a fantastic job of going into her background without making it feel like a dry college lecture (or even an entertaining Ted Talk). Turner also does fantastic work playing a woman who fears the power of her words—and more accurately, how those who dislike her words will respond.
Charlotte Corday, portrayed by Alicia Nava, was the woman sentenced to death for assassinating the Jacobin leader, Jean-Paul Marat. She comes to de Gouges looking for aid in composing her best, last words. However, like many women in the French feminist movement, de Gouges distances herself from Corday, fearful of how her actions would reflect poorly on other women. Regardless of potential public opinion, Corday is solid in her resolve and unapologetic in her attempt to end tyranny. Nava embodies the character well.
Queen-on-the-run Marie Antoinette, played by Dahlia Parks, was a chaotic delight. Marie comes crying to de Gouges, fearing her beheading. She seeks Olympe’s writing skills to give her a more favorable image. Marie’s chatter covers the joys and aches of motherhood, the humor and heartbreak of being royal, and the stressful juxtaposition of being both divine and mortal. Parks played the highs and lows of the French royal artfully.
Last, though certainly not least, is Marianne Angelle, performed by Victoria Lloyd. As I mentioned, Angelle is not a real person, but based upon very real Haitian women. Some of them may well be my ancestors, so I have a particular fondness for this character. She also shares particular characteristics with the other characters on stage. She shares de Gouges’s passion for the written word and how it can shape society. She holds her head high with the same level of regality as Antoinette. She has the same drive and desire for freedom for all as Corday. Lloyd does wonderful work connecting with each character, while staying true to her own.
Even beyond the performances I loved the production’s surrealist motifs, and all the fun that comes along with Meta-Theatre: the constant breaking of the fourth wall, the pop culture references, even the spoiling of the entire plot in the first 10 minutes. Some may find this last point troubling. But if you, like me, are someone who figures out the twists anyway, it’s fun to go along for the ride—and see how the play takes us to the known destination. The overall cheekiness continued in the program, where costumes were listed as being “designed” by Amazon.com. I cackled.
The costumes themselves were varied in their degrees of accuracy. The higher in status one was, the farther the costume was from being found in a textbook of the time period. Lloyd’s costume of Saint-Domingue Revolutionist Marianne had the most historically accurate costume, if you overlooked the combat boots. Whereas Parks’ costume as the fallen Queen was merely hinted at with a white pannier cage or petticoat, adorned with blue and red bows.
The set mostly consisted of a table, chair, various acting/stage blocks, and two door frames—empty door frames that, when covered in white sheets, looked like veiled guillotines. And the veiled frames also were used for shadow puppetry, suggested in de Gouges’ prologue about what kind of play to write. My favorite use of set was the functional garage door built into the dance studio in which the performance took place—a terrific example of how production companies performing in unusual spaces find unique ways to use “found” elements. In an imaginative choice from the artistic team of Jackson Castello (director) and Amy Cave (producer and assistant director), the garage door became the guillotine which beheaded three of our four characters.
Technically this isn’t a spoiler, as there are 230 years of known history about these women. None of their beheadings should come as a surprise (if you were even a bit awake in European History). Yet each fall of the door brought a literal sense of weight to these terrible executions, each one seemingly more unjust than the last. And yet despite the sad endings, one may find hope in how each condemned woman’s story came to light, hope for how each story was told diversely by an all BIPOC cast of actors, and hope for a middle-aged theatre artist like me—watching younger artists helping vital old tales be carried on.
WHEN: Closed
WEB: For details on upcoming productions, check out the Facebook pages for Resolute Theatre Company and Tree Trunk Theater
