“The Rabble has been a company to watch for some years, but the daring and acuity of this work is of the sort that indicates a giant stride has been taken.” RealTime (for Orlando)
THE RABBLE presents JOAN
10 minutes Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse 16yrs+
Everywhere there are women burning.
Joan of Arc: the virgin soldier, saviour of a nation, holy icon and martyr. A teenage girl who persuaded an army of men to believe she had a direct line to the divine. A maiden’s body becomes the site for communal transference; a totemic vessel for a country’s anxieties and hopes.
Through the figure of Joan of Arc, theatrical mavericks THE RABBLE investigate the phenomenon of the female body as the site for national identity. Joan is a spectacular, poetic and defiant exploration of female power. Realised in black and white and portrayed both cinematically and theatrically, it pays homage to the silent film genre and the art of live oration.
Image: David Paterson, featuring Mary Helen Sassman
Meet the artist
THE RABBLE
THE RABBLE (Kate Davis and Emma Valente) was formed in 2006 from a desire to make work that wasn’t being produced in Australia: visually ambitious, political, feminist and formally experimental. Since 2011, The Rabble has been catapulted from a boutique theatre company to a respected and award-winning creative voice in demand nationally.
The company has produced 12 works since their inception including commissions from Theatre Works, Melbourne Festival, Malthouse Theatre and Belvoir Street and has presented work in festivals around the country including DARK MOFO, Brisbane Festival and Melbourne Writers’ Festival.