1789 - The French Revolution: Year One
by Ariane Mnouchkine  
 Directed by Yvette Hardie     Assisted by Tracey Human

ORCHESTRATING A REVOLUTION IS NO EASY TASK by Yvette Hardie

1789. The French Revolution: Year One is an extraordinary piece of theatre and unlike anything produced by the school before . The sheer theatricality of the play is one of its greatest strengths. It is an energetic, raucously funny and compellingly powerful theatrical spectacle, which tells the story of the first year of the French Revolution, not from the perspective of the great historical figures, but rather from the point of view of the people who fought for their rights.

Originally created in workshop by Theatre du Soleil under the direction of Ariane Mnouchkine in the late 1960's during the student riots in Paris, it is more often a description of a production than an actual text. Many of the scenes are not provided with the necessary dialogue and there is much which needs to be created through improvisation, clowning, movement and dance before the play can come to life. Moreover, it is a piece of environmental theatre, which encourages the audience to become one with the revolutionaries. Apart from the quick changes of focus from stage to stage, from floor to gallery, the audience is invited to go on a march, to join in a funfair and partake in debates. Each actor is required to play a range of roles and if ever there were a reason to say 'there are no small parts, only small actors",  1789 is it! The success or failure of the production lies with the contribution made by each actor, and thus their wholehearted commitment to the piece is crucial.

All of these aspects created considerable challenges for me as director and especially for my large cast. As a result, I was tremendously grateful to have the valuable assistance of Tracey Human. The first challenge was getting through the audition process - for some people the most daunting part of the process. Tracey and I were also fairly daunted by this aspect, as we knew that the decisions we made about casting would determine the ultimate success of the production. We had large numbers of students showing off their skills (which ranged from juggling to the ability to speak more than one language) and I was ultimately very satisfied with the talented and dedicated group of actors we managed to put together.

The first weeks were spent exploring ideas from the play, particularly the concept of revolution and what it means to us in South Africa today, as well as the many styles of performance used in the play, Actors worked on their skills in clowning, burlesque, mime, commedia dell'arte and satire. A great deal of research was done on the French Revolution and the particular events mentioned in the play. We learnt that there were many similarities between what had happened in France and what has happened in South Africa and this made the subject matter of the play feel very close to home.

About ten days into rehearsals, Tracey and I actually cast the play in the sense of giving out roles to actors. We wanted the play to be as honest as we could make it and so we decided upon the concept of having the actors begin the play as themselves. This gave each performer the chance to speak to the audience about why he or she felt South Africa was in need of a further revolution of some kind, whether it be a revolution of attitudes, or a revolution of ideas.

The process of pulling the play together was painstaking and exhausting but also extremely rewarding for me and all concerned. By the time we got close to opening night - and the technical details such the follow-spots, the beautiful puppets (made for us by the art department) and the hundreds of costumes, masks and props were ready - the sense of excitement (and panic) was tangible.

Since the audience is the most important character in the play, each performance was an entirely unique experience. It was wonderful to see the audience being swept away by the experience of 1789 and I was extremely proud of the mature manner in which the cast dealt with the more unruly audience members. The contribution of each cast and crew member to the play was enormous. Stefan Greyling's wonderful drumming kept the tension mounting and technical team handled the complicated costume, lighting and sound changes with aplomb. Some magical moments from the play were: Rosanne's slide down from the gallery; Sibu's stunning fop; Kgolane's hysterical chicken; Jana's wonderful Marat healing the sick nation; the Storming of the Bastille speeches in a variety of languages (the longest monologues ever); the boisterous funfair, with some nifty acrobatics, clowning sequences, Jacques and Anne doing some impressive juggling and opportunities to throw beanbags at Louis and Marie Antoinette (and more often the poor shield-holders!); the wonderfully funny puppet show; the Nobility stripshow; the singing of the rousing Marseillaise... too many moments to mention them all.

I know, however, that they will live on in the memories of all those involved for a long time to come. Long live the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity! Long live the revolution!


1789: A UNIOUE EXPERIENCE by ILZE LOTZ GRADE 12

It is definitely impossible to compare 1789 to anything else because it is unlike anything I've ever seen before in my life. It thrilled me so much in its originality and passion that I had to see it twice. It blew my mind both times.

It is a play about the French Revolution. Usually a play allows for a small amount of internal compassion, sympathy with the characters - a small amount of silent audience participation. In 1789 the audience became an integral part of the play. The audience became the Parisian mob and moved through the various stages of the play in this frame of mind. For me this was an entirely new theatrical experience - a magnificent one.

1789 moved and touched me, and it shed an entirely on the French revolution of 1789! There was absolutely no barrier between the audience and the actors. The actors moved through the audience and the audience moved through the actors. 1789 moved through just about everyone who experienced it.