Director Courtney Woolard, self-proclaimed Francophile, debuts Lauren Gunderson’s 2018 play The Revolutionists at Theatre Knoxville Downtown. Collaborating with Dramaturge and Pellissippi State Community College French professor Saralee Peccolo-Taylor, Woolard blends the historical with the hysterical in a production that will make you laugh, then cry, then get really angry. It is an emotional rollercoaster as swiftly changing as late 18th century France itself and reminds us of the turmoil that comes with substantial change.
The Revolutionists is a clever and self-aware play-about-a-play that reminds audiences of the power our stories hold. Set in Paris during the French Reign of Terror in 1793, when public executions with those infamous guillotines meant nearly anyone’s head could roll for even the slightest criticism of the new revolutionary republic. During this tumultuous time, women were torn between asserting their own rights amongst the rights of the rebels and protecting themselves from accusations of treason. Set against a metaphorical backdrop of French history, consisting of illuminated panels in blue, white, and red framed by slanted guillotine blades, The Revolutionists features four female characters, modeled after real women revolutionaries during the French Reign of Terror, who bond over their fight for liberty, equality, and sisterhood. Olympe de Gouges, played by Francesca Reggio, is a playwright known for her flair for words, yet she suffers from writers’ block; how can she think over the constant sound of swishing blades? Yet other women need her help during this revolution. Marianne Angelle, played by Joyce Jones, is a stalwart Black Caribbean abolitionist fighting for the cause in France’s colony Saint Domingue (which will later become Haiti) who needs Olympe’s help writing political pamphlets and manifestoes. Charlotte Corday, played by Angel Orenstein, needs some fierce final words to declare before her public execution for her planned assassination of a politician. And even Marie Antoinette, that infamous queen of frivolity played by Rebecca Gomez, also seeks Olympe’s help in rewriting her oft-mistold story as she also faces the guillotine.
Reggio, Jones, Orenstein, and Gomez all bring out the best in their characters, who each experience deep internal conflicts—Olympe’s love for fiction and need to speak out against her reality; Marianne’s passionate and driven feminism and her deep love for her abolitionist husband; Charlotte’s desperation to be remembered as a political actor, not a scorned lover; and Marie’s need to be seen as “Citizen Queen” by the angry revolutionists who want her head on a stick. The women bond amid social and political turmoil over their shared experiences as women, regardless of race, age, class, and their chosen weapons of agency—both words and kitchen knives can be sharp and cutting.
While this play is experimental, metatheatrical, and self-referential (which, as Olympe says, might be a bit confusing), Stage Manager Zoe Jurgensen and Technical Director Joseph Johnson keep things fresh, exciting, and easy to follow. Johnson’s lighting choices keenly convey set and scene changes, and Jurgensen keeps the action flowing seamlessly between these changes; the blocking is notable here and keeps things interesting during extended moments of dialogue. Costumer Angel Orenstein’s choices were simple yet elegant, characterizing the play’s four strong female leads through their attire, and Music Director Casey Maxwell led the cast through a recurring and resounding a cappella revolutionary ballad that weaves together the stories of these four history-changing female revolutionists.
Woolard’s production of The Revolutionists is a powerful reminder of the strength of women and what it means to lay your head—and your heart—on the line for what you believe in, what you want.
Tickets available at www.theatreknoxville.com or at their box office.
