St. Joan – Lyric Theatre – Review by Cathy Brown

Produced by the Lyric Theatre – Directed by Jimmy Fay
Until 8 Oct

St Joan blasts on to the Lyric stage, proving at once that a twentieth century play about a fifteenth century historical figure can still resonate and thrill for a twenty first century audience.

George Bernard Shaw’s tale of the legendary Maid of Orléans examines the life and death of the young country woman, driven by religious determination and the voices of saints to cast the English out of France. Grace Smart’s Linbury Prize winning set, transposes this historical drama to a modern day office setting – complete with water cooler, fire exit signs and filing cabinets. It is a transition that pays off. With the church bells that usher in Joan’s voices replaced by a ringing telephone and suits of armour transformed into business attire, this is a production that emphasizes the bureaucracy which will eventually crush Joan when she is no longer of use; office politics writ large.

The decision to cut the play and adapt it for seven actors is another astute one. Philip O’Sullivan (who is also in the cast) does an admirable job of condensing the play, which although still wordy and slow during the opening scenes soon gathers momentum, with the second half in particular perfectly balancing emotion and tension.

This is a play whose success can be wholly dependent on the lead actor and Lisa Dwyer Hogg as Joan is a revelation. Charting Joan’s journey from wide-eyed charismatic activist through to steely soldier, Dwyer Hogg captures all the facets of Joan’s personality; her complexity; her naivety and her stubbornness. This Joan is no saint (comparisons with Sinead O’Connor in the programme notes are apt), here is a hero as maddening as she is inspirational and Dwyer Hogg’s nuanced, physical and ultimately heart wrenching performance reveals the woman behind the legend. She is ably supported by the rest of the cast, all of whom play multiple roles. Tony Flynn chills as the dapper Earl of Warwick, determined to burn Joan at the stake and Philip O’Sullivan’s Inquisitor, all bumbling warmth and kindly advice, is inspired. However it is Abigail McGibbon, in all three of her roles, who feels like the heart of this production, providing much needed emotional ballast, particularly in her scenes with Joan as the soldier Dunois.

Jimmy Fay directs with a modern sensibility, subtly incorporating the themes of feminism, fundamentalism and nationalism into a moving and often thrilling production which reminds us that the patriarchal society that existed in Joan’s time is still in place today. Movements closer to home like Waking the Feminists or Repeal the 8th are a reminder that we still need heroes, we still need people to stand up, speak out and inspire.

The Lyric Theatre has given us a St Joan for today – a complex, intelligent and moving production that deserves to be seen and then seen again.