Anne took the lead role of Joan at Leatherhead in
Surrey during March 1967, the only time, as far as we are aware,
that she has appeared there. A local paper included this article on
the production.
Gallic Joan
One would not expect a Frenchman and an
Englishman (Ulsterman, actually) to have similar views about Joan of
Arc, but thus it is with Bernard Shaw’s “Saint Joan” and Jean
Anouilh’s “L’Alhouette”; it is Christopher Fry’s
translation of the latter, predictably called “The Lark”, which
is the new production at the Leatherhead Theatre.
Since 1955, when this English version was first
performed, historical plays, including Anouilh’s “Becket”,
have exploited modern techniques.
At that time, though, Anouilh’s use of the “distancing”
effect, when the characters stand aside from the action and discuss
it, must have seemed daringly original. Now it is nothing new, and I
am not convinced that it helps this play.
Whereas Shaw progressed by grand scenes in
chronological order, Anouilh sets the story in the context of
discussion between the Earl of Warwick and the Church officials.
Keith Andrews, who directs, could possibly have
improved the staging of these passages by using more stylism; the
fact is that, particularly at the beginning of the play, the device
seems verbose and undramatic.
What Anouilh was capable of doing with the theme
is shown where the story follows its natural course, as in the first
meeting between Joan and the Dauphin. This scene alone confirms a
brilliant performance by Emrys James. We see the Dauphin throughout
as a stunted, effeminate, despised creature behind whose façade
lies a shrewd brain and a grain of latent courage.
Joan works on this unpromising material, and a
splendid climax is reached as, terrified, he asserts his kingship
over his advisers. Mr James’ characterisation, including the
speech impediment, compels attention.
Joan herself is played by Anne Stallybrass in a
way that both Shaw and Anouilh would have approved, as a plain
country girl with unusually clear reasoning powers and a conviction
of divine inspiration. Speaking with a neutral rural accent, she
conveys the girl’s humble background, also the dynamism that made
hardened soldiers obey her. Towards the end of the play, during and
after her trial, she poignantly reveals the anguish of being
completely misunderstood.
If Anouilh was as concerned as Shaw to put in an
acceptable light the actions of Church and State, he was less
successful. The predominant feeling in this production is of
sympathy for Joan, the individual conscience, and anger against
authority in the shape of the clerics and politicians.
As the struggle goes on, it reminds one of the
Stalin purges and perhaps, on a less violent level, Mr Wilson’s
muzzling of his Left.
Neither playwright seems to favour authoritarian
control of the individual, but Anouilh takes sides more openly. His
Inquisitor is much more vindictive than Shaw’s, and Vernon
Dobtcheff pinpoints his fanaticism thinly veiled behind a line of
bland argument. Ronald Adam emphasises the Bishop’s desperate
attempts to convert Joan, but he was still groping on the first
night for his real position in the struggle. All the clerics are
hampered by their ceaseless and often pointless movement on the
stage. The impact of the trial is diminished by this restlessness.
Raymond Adamson and Mark Kingston bellow
effectively in their representations of the rough squirearchy, but
Ronald Mansell and Paul Harris lack conviction as disgruntled
potentates. Their authority should be more obvious before they are
deposed by the Dauphin.
The scene at the stake is well managed, although
more simulated flame would improve it. The flashback to the
Coronation at Rheims, which follows, is a puzzling artifice, and
exemplifies the stifling of dramatic tension which pervades this
play.
Anne Stallybrass - as Joan of Arc - ponders over
her part during a lull in rehearsals for the French version of the
story - “The Lark” - at Leatherhead Theatre
© Surrey County and Leatherhead Reporter
9 March 1967
Anne had previously played Joan shortly before
her twenty-fourth birthday during her first few months at the
Sheffield Playhouse. The national theatrical publication The Stage
gave a glowing review of her performance.
Fine Joan By Anne Stallybrass
A remarkable and refreshing portrayal of Anouilh’s
Joan of Arc is being given at Sheffield Playhouse by Anne
Stallybrass, already one of the new season’s outstanding players.
Directed by Geoffrey Ost, the Christopher Fry translation of “The
Lark” deftly catches the true French mood in the manner intended
by the author.
Beauchamp, lustily acted by Graham Lines in “The
Lark” at Sheffield Playhouse, has a line to the effect that
nothing bores him more than people who take themselves too
seriously. It must have been in that frame of mind that Anouilh set
about creating his idea of Joan of Arc, and only a Frenchman could
have done it in the sparkling manner by which it is played by Anne
Stallybrass. It could be that he did not quite succeed in getting
the character as he had in mind, but with a little imagination it is
easy, and enjoyable, to fill in the gaps.
Anne Stallybrass excitingly makes this Joan a
tantalising bundle of feminine bewitchery, and it could be that the
legendary Joan was nothing like this at all, nor does it matter.
This is a story about a woman and her complex nature, and not about
a political trial.
It is a most exacting part for a young actress,
and Anne Stallybrass meets the challenge with vigour, freshness, and
individuality. She very successfully epitomises the young of any
generation: fighting all the time to soar above all the things which
cage them in. Joan of Arc might have had some political fervour, but
basically she was a woman, every woman, and Anne Stallybrass, thanks
to Anouilh, displays all the feminine mental quirks. A most engaging
performance.
Adding to Geoffrey Ost’s clever direction, in
which he makes full use of stage lighting, there is all-round acting
support, but particularly from David Pinner, as Charles, the
Dauphin. His is a sparkling gem of pure acting, pure buffoonery,
creating spontaneous applause which, though possibly misplaced, is
certainly truly earned. It could be that the Dauphin was something
like this character.
David Grey as the Inquisitor, Roger Rowland as
Cauchon, Anthony Collin as Promoter, and Gerald Harrison as Captain
La Hire, are perfect foils for Joan’s many changes of mood.
The version is Christopher Fry’s translation,
as good as ever, but the change at the end, so different from the
French original, is hard to understand. That, however, does not
detract from the enjoyment and appreciation of a young actress who
surely must make an impression in her art in due course.
© The Stage and Television Today
25 October 1962
Theatre 60s
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Copyright DiMar