SAINT JOAN

About the show

A cunning, deceitful witch. A lunatic, lacking in reason. A protester, a heretic. Or just a village girl, pious and chaste, with an uncommon power. Whatever she is, she is a rebel. And she must burn. Joan of Arc is an icon of protest. From the age of twelve, she was convinced she would change the course of history. She did so before her seventeenth birthday. Her faith in herself and in her cause, which inspired an entire army to victory, were both her greatest strength and her downfall. She was radical in her individualism, a young woman leading men into battle, a beacon of light in a shadowy world of medieval establishment. She refused to be put in the box that her world constructed for her, no matter the consequences. Shaw’s dynamic classic is based on the transcripts from Joan’s trial and the extraordinary political impact of her life. This new, modern reworking of Saint Joan is a stripped-back version of Shaw’s original language and additional text that reveals Joan’s conviction, intelligence and fiery charisma. This Saint Joan places a heroic young woman at the centre of her own story; the true story of Joan’s fight - first for her country, then for her life against the monolithic might of the state, the military and the church. The game-changing Joan of Arc is brought to life by the luminous Sarah Snook (ABC’s The Secret River, The Beautiful Lie). Director Imara Savage and designers David Fleischer and Renée Mulder create a fast-paced and riveting political drama of immense scale. The men who Joan leaves in her wake are played by a distinguished ensemble of actors including John Gaden (Orlando), Socratis Otto (Foxtel’s Wentworth), Anthony Taufa (Cloud Nine), Brandon McClelland (The Present) and William Zappa (Arms and the Man).