Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog

This got off to a bad start for me as the prologue, which put the treatment of the story in context, was largely inaudible (a combination of latecomer noise and weak projection). It did win me over, though, despite the fact the gender politics sometimes got in the way of the otherwise good storytelling.

The play takes us from Joan’s plea to the dauphin to let her lead the war against the English, through to her death, though this is only a period of a couple of years, from age 17 to 19. Implausible as it seems, there is a clear basis in fact, though I suspect a degree of myth has been added to the story in the subsequent 600 years. It’s a great story though, and it’s by and large well told here, in an irreverent, brash and populist way. The feminist perspective fares better than the gender one, perhaps because the latter is more speculative.

It’s hard to stage battle scenes, but turning them into dance sequences didn’t really work for me, and got a bit tiresome on repeat. From the conclusion of Joan’s trial onwards, the gender issues overwhelmed the story and it became preachy. That said, there was much to enjoy in the writing and staging, which were playful and often very funny. Joan’s initial fight for acceptance was handled well, as was her rejection, after success in battle, by the King because of her popularity, and by the Queen and her mother for failing to conform. The very funny trial scene treats the clerical stooges with the contempt they deserve.

Despite the variable projection, Isobel Thom, a 2022 graduate of RWCMD, makes a hugely impressive professional stage debut as Joan. Jolyon Coy is a hoot as the effete and ineffectual dauphin, later King. Adam Gillen is excellent as his confidante Thomas, as are both Janet Etuk & Debbie Korley as the Queen and her mother. The rest of the ensemble of fourteen, most in multiple roles, are very good.

I often take against productions that hijack a play to convey a message, like the Globe’s 2021 Romeo & Juliet, but in this case it’s a new play, and though I would personally have preferred the story without the gender politics, I respect the Globe’s treatment of the subject. Given the story is 170 years older than Shakespeare’s first play, this might be one of the oldest stories (with the exception of Greek tragedy) ever told at The Globe?