Marat Sade

To begin the second half of the 2009-2010 season, Dale McFadden directs Marat / Sade by German playwright Peter Weiss. The Daily Mail has called it, “One of the most amazing plays I’ve ever seen…exciting, exhilarating, awesome.” The actual – and very long - title The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of Monsieur de Sade describes the action in this explosively theatrical play: In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the infamous Marquis de Sade stages a play for the asylum’s director, his family, and guests, using himself and his fellow inmates as the cast, assisted by various staff members. De Sade directs the action, which consists of songs, commentaries and wild outbursts as the line between theatre and real life disintegrates. What might have been a helpful therapeutic activity for the inmates gets out of hand as the violence onstage unleashes the madness and rage within. Primed for a new generation of theatergoers, this Tony Award winner for Best Play is an experience not to be missed.