Snapshots: The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat

Snapshot of Corey Jones and Fajer Al-Kaisi from UT Theatre & Dance's production of The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade.

Set in the historical Charenton Asylum, Marat/Sade is a 'play within a play'. The main story takes place on July 13th, 1808 after the French Revolution; however, the play within the story takes place during the revolution, in the middle of 1793, culminating with the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat (which took place on July 13th, 1793). The actors are the inmates of the asylum, and the nurses and supervisors occasionally step in to restore order. The Marquis, imprisoned for threatening public morals with his lewd writings, wrote plays at Charenton, plays that were fashionable among Paris’s demimonde. Marat/Sade imagines one such play, performed by the inmates—sociopaths, schizophrenics, narcoleptics, and other societal rejects—with de Sade directing.

Performances run through this Sunday. Check the IST List for details.

Photo by Mark Rutkowski