the persecution and assassination of jean paul marat performed by the inmates of charanton under the direction of the marquis de sade

anyone else hear of this? how popular was this play? who was in it, when did it run, did it win any awards? above all, wat was it about????

I think it may be about the persecution and assination of Jean-Paul Marat performed by the inmates of Charanton under the direction of the Marquis de Sade, but I may be way off.

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Funny you should mention Marat/Sade, YankeeFan.

This a a dramatic play with music that was first presented on
B'way about forty years ago. It was a production of the Royal Shakespeare Company, which opened on B'way in December 1965,at the then named Martin Beck Theatre. It played 2 previews (yes, only 2), and premiered on December 27th. It went on to run through April 1966. It's large cast included Michael Farnsworth, Ian Hogg, Glenda Jackson as Charlotte Corday, Patrick MaGee as the Marquis de Sade, Ian Richardson as Jean-Paul Marat.

It won 4 TONY Awards: Best Play, Best Direction (Peter Brook, before the Sir), Best Featured Actor (Mr. Magee), and Best Costumes. Ms. Glenda Jackson was nominated for Best Featured Actress but didn't win.


The play was revived a year later (Jan-Feb 1967), but that production proved to be less successful than the original and closed just short of 2 full months.


The original production was filmed, as directed by Peter Brook, with almost the entire original cast, including MaGee, Jackson, Richardson, and Farnsworth.

The film is worth viewing.

Jeez, could the title be any longer?

It was a revolutionary piece of theatre in its day, in terms of the subject matter, the presentational style and, yes, even the length of the title. (It was referred to so much as "Marat/Sade" that many people who didn't know French history mistakenly assumed that the Marquis de Sade's first name was "Marat.") It is a play with a play: The RSC Company are the inmates at the asylum, and they are performing a play about the French Revolution. The Marquis de Sade is a character, and he is directing the play-with-the-play. As inmates, they limp, wander aimlessly, drool and stare into space, thus laying the foundations for a new performing style for the Royal Shakespeare Company and British theatre that came down to us in works like Les Miz and Nicholas Nickelby.

Marat/Sade is where it all began. If you watch the film (which is a little dated), you can see a very young Glenda Jackson, a young Ian Richardson, a young Patrick Magee.

If you like it, read Peter Brook's memoir "The Threads of Time" or his book of theory "The Empty Space."

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ive only seen it once, at my high school, which was LaGuardia so it was actually very good.

Audience therapy may be required because - at least when I saw it - the lunatics actually burst out into the auditorium during the chaotic 2nd act riot scene. Talk about being glad you had a mezzanine seat!

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