University of Virginia Library

"Enlightened' Play

This movie, the screen version of the
celebrated Broadway play, concerns a skit
put on (for therapeutic purposes) by
inmates in an "enlightened" insane asylum
to act out the murder of Jean-Paul Marat, a
leader in the French Revolution. To add the
necessary amount of spice, the Marquis De
Sade directs the show.

And spice there is. Director Peter Brooks
makes sure he cuts to the freaks on the
sidelines doing their stunts about once every
eleven seconds. There is no avoiding looking
at the guards with their blood-stained
aprons, brandishing their blackjacks.

The Royal Shakespearean Company was
given the task of showing us how the loonies
act in their bins. And I saw them do their
tricks. The company did an excellent job of
handling this hard material: they articulated
well, they acted well, and they made good
lunatics.

The substance of the play is relatively
easy to follow, if you don't stare at the guy
in the background dribbling all over the
place.