Jeanne the Maid

Chamber Theater

Through Aug 16.

There are two approaches to a play like Jeanne the Maid--artistic and political. Artistically speaking, Jeanne is an impressionistic retelling of the trial and execution of Joan of Arc (also known as Jeanne d'Arc). With varying degrees of success, the show indulges in the conceits of experimental performance--poetics, allegory, wriggling around on the floor. The ensemble does well with the stylized material, mixing trial transcripts with scraps of Job and the Latin mass. A few scenes were moving, most were mediocre, and none were embarrassing (though I suggest cutting the staged rape--it's a cheap cry for attention and adds nothing to the beauty or coherence of the work).

Unfortunately, Jeanne's small artistic achievements are undermined by its polemics. As my companion said after seeing Jeanne, "Attempts at political art usually result in half-assed art and terrible politics." Art can wield strong political power--but not on purpose. It is the audience's (not the artist's) job to give aesthetics contemporary significance.

Director Joseph Lavy's biggest problem is his sledgehammer attempt to sculpt parallels between Jeanne's trial for heresy and our current tensions between democracy and security. The metaphor is weak, and the cloying approach is patronizing. Yes, irrational prejudice sometimes undermines justice. We get it already--without program notes and a few bars of "America the Beautiful" while Jeanne goes up in flames. Her execution, in fact, was a very moving scene (and a smart solution to the problem of having to convincingly burn a character at the stake with just four actors, a sheet, and an umbrella) until anti-Ashcroft posturing spoiled the moment.

Barring two-bit attempts at commentary, Jeanne the Maid is a rough piece of experimental theater with a few beautiful scenes. Next time, I suggest Mr. Lavy step out of the way and trust the art to perform its own political labor.