March 14, 2008

Purdue Theatre to present 'Marat/Sade' March 27 to April 6

The play, which was written by German playwright Peter Weiss in 1964, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. March 27-29, at 3 and 7:30 p.m. March 30, at 7:30 p.m. April 4, at 3 and 7:30 p.m. April 5 and at 3 p.m. April 6.

"Marat/Sade" is a play within a play that is set in the Charenton Asylum in 1808 after the French Revolution, said associate professor of theatre Gordon McCall.

The actors are asylum inmates, and the nurses and supervisors occasionally step in to restore order in the play that takes place during the revolution in 1793 and ends in the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat. The Marquis de Sade directs the play within the asylum, and the inmates immerse their audience in a bathtub of savage, sexual and politically charged mayhem of a truly theatrical nature, McCall said.

"The full title of this 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,'" he said. "What Peter Weiss has done is given us historical fact mixed with fiction. De Sade and Marat went through the French Revolution, but they never met. We know for a fact that de Sade was an inmate in the Charenton asylum, but putting Marat and de Sade in the asylum together is the theatrical device that Weiss uses for arguing de Sade's view of individual anarchy versus Marat's belief that rational thought and the will of the people will reign supreme.

"With these themes running throughout the play, we wanted to create a theatrical event that is unique and perhaps upsets our preconceptions of what going to see a play is about."

McCall said the planning and rehearsal that went into staging the production has been an interesting experience.

"This has been an energizing and fun experience for all of us," he said. "'Marat/Sade' has been a trampoline for our imagination, and we hope it will be that for our audience."

The play marks the directorial debut of McCall, said Russ Jones, Purdue Theatre chair.

"Gordon joined our theater faculty this year after much success in the Canadian theater, most recently as the executive and artistic director of the Centaur Theatre in Montreal the past 10 years," Jones said. "He brings 30 years of experience to our program, and his directorial expertise has been a big plus for our program. We look forward to seeing the vision he will create in this provocative work."

"Marat/Sade" will be performed in one act of approximately 90 minutes. Due to the strong subject matter, possible nudity and sexual situations, it is recommended for adult audiences only, McCall said.

Tickets are $10.50 for the general public and for seniors 62 years of age and older, and $8.50 for students. Tickets are available at the Stewart Center, Elliott and Yue-Kong Pao Hall box offices or by calling (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Sources: Gordon McCall, (765) 494-3086, gmccall@purdue.edu

Russ Jones, (765) 494-3081, russjones@purdue.edu

David Lageveen, director of marketing and donor relations for Purdue Theatre, (765) 494-3084, lageveen@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: Photographers are invited to take photos at a rehearsal at 7:30 p.m. March 25. To make arrangements, contact David Lageveen, Purdue Theatre director of marketing and donor relations, (765) 494-3084, or lageveen@purdue.edu  

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