St Groan!

The National Theatre’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan 

As much as I love Gemma Arterton, not even her forceful performance of Saint Joan could rescue this lacklustre production of Shaw’s lesser known play. Whilst I admired the updating of the play to a corporate boardroom complete with large screen displays of stocks and shares, the modern dress costuming for the male ensemble against Joan in medieval costume oversimplified the themes of Shaw's play.

Shaw described Saint Joan as a “play without villains” and by dressing the characters like 1980s boardroom red-braced yuppies contrasting with Joan in traditional peasant garb, the director Josie Rourke simplifies the complexities of Shaw's drama by immediately indicating to the audience that Joan is something other than the men surrounding her, something saintly and pure. Of course by association that posits the surrounding men particularly Jo Stone-Fewings and Elliot Levey as the Earl of Warwick and Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais respectively as villains. By doing this Rourke minimises Shaw's message about society’s reaction to people of true individual genius.

Gemma Arterton’s portrayal is really good because it is so simple. She presents St Joan as doggedly dedicated and dangerously persuasive. The male cast argue that her persuasiveness is her danger. When they need her for this skill, they use her, but when they no longer require her to invoke the armies to fight for them they have to get rid of her before more women starting forgetting their places!

The rest of the cast (all male) were also strong. The Dauphin played by Fisayo Akinade was really a highlight of the play. His simpering, puerile boy prince was thoroughly enjoyable to watch and bounced wonderfully off Gemma Arterton’s driven, almost muscular St Joan. Jo Stone-Fewings, Elliot Levey and Rory Keenan were also capable in their roles but sadly the intimacy of the Donmar Warehouse was the best thing you can say about the production. 

There are better National Theatre and RSC productions running at the moment to see than this, which is a pity as Shaw’s play is so rich with theatrical potential.