The Play
In the early 19th century, the religious leadership of the Asylum of Charenton allowed infamous inmate and aberrant author the Marquis de Sade to perform theatrical “experiments” on the other patients. The meta-fictional musical Marat/Sade brings you–the audience–into the asylum for a barbarous performance where Sade’s loyal company gives the Charenton administration more than it bargained for. Through song, comedy, eroticism, and violence, Peter Weiss’s play poses challenging questions about economic oppression, blind patriotism, press censorship, and body autonomy.
After a brief premiere in West Berlin in 1964, Marat/Sade was promptly translated into English by Geoffrey Skelton with a verse adaptation by Adrian Mitchell for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Under the direction of Peter Brook, the notoriously shocking production incorporated dramatic elements of both Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre and Antonin Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty. A year later, its Broadway run would earn it Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Director.
Our Production
After Bare Theatre’s production of Marat/Sade closed in March 2020–after a brief but critically acclaimed weekend of pre-lockdown performances–director Dustin Britt began forming a new, independent production with revised staging, updated designs, and some recasting. As our community has been thrown into tremendous upheaval over the last year, and the #BlackLivesMatter movement has received more public attention than ever, the 2021 Marat/Sade developed a bolder, more defiant production, challenging both the cast and the audience to examine systems of oppression from new angles, highlighting the play’s underlying themes of forced assimilation, imprisonment, religious manipulation, healthcare inequality, white supremacy, and gender inequity–bolstered by a reimagined ending.
Our cast and creative team feature women, queer artists, BIPOC artists, and artists with disabilities. Each of these groups is also represented in our cast, which is predominantly female or nonbinary. We hope that relevance, relatability, and representation will attract new audiences and stimulate conversation.
The Music
This production proudly presents an original score by North Carolina musician al Riggs, performed live by the cast, who serve as both singers and instrumentalists based on Adrian Mitchell’s original English verse translation of the play. Riggs is a professional singer-songwriter based in Durham, NC. As well as operating Horse Complex Records, they have performed at large-scale festivals, recorded with popular musicians nation-wide, toured nationally with The Mountain Goats, and appeared on numerous podcasts under their own name, as VAXXERS, and as Criswell Brushes. Al served as musical director, arranger, and lead guitarist for Seed Art Share’s 2018 production of The Miracle Worker. Marat/Sade is their first full theatrical score. Their music has received critical acclaim worldwide and they recently graced the cover of IndyWeek: indyweek.com/music/features/al-riggs-bile-bone
Read more about the new score in this 2020 IndyWeek interview between arts critic Byron Woods, director Dustin Britt, and composer al Riggs: indyweek.com/culture/stage/al-riggs-bare-theatre-marat-sade
Find al Riggs on:
PRICING
We are committed to ensuring arts accessibility, which requires affordability. Our pricing policy is PAY WHAT YOU CAN. There is no suggested ticket amount; please give whatever you feel comfortable giving. All proceeds will be used to compensate the cast and creative and to make a donation to St. John’s MCC.
This production will be performed for an in-person audience only. There will be no digital version available.
SAFETY
To follow social distancing guidelines, a staff member will seat you and your party upon arrival. All cast and crew have been COVID-19 vaccinated. All audience members are required to wear a mask.
LOCATION
St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church, 622 Maywood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27603
PARKING
There is a small parking lot at the church and ample free street parking along Maywood Ave.
TIME
- Performance starts 7:00 PM
- Doors open at 6:45 PM
- The performance runs approximately 2.5 hours, with one 10-minute intermission.