Theatre Lunatico Presents THE REVOLUTIONISTS By Lauren Gunderson

The Theatre Lunatico ensemble returns to the stage in May with Lauren Gunderson's historically-inspired comedy with a heart. The Revolutionists, which opens Saturday, May 25th and runs through Sunday, June 9th at La Val's Subterranean Theater in Berkeley. The Revolutionists, which opens Saturday, May 25th and runs through Sunday, June 9th at La Val's Subterranean Theater in Berkeley.

One of the four revolutionists who give the play its title–feminist playwright Olympe de Gouges–struggles to record a woman's perspective on the French Revolution. It's Paris in 1793, and the Reign of Terror's “Madame Guillotine” threatens to end her writing – and her life! – at any moment. “Producing a play is challenging. It's a feat of love,” says director Lauri Smith. “In our post-pandemic world, it's gotten even harder, so that aspect of The Revolutionists felt particularly timely.” Olympe finds inspiration and support in three other revolutionary women – all characters beautifully realized by Lauren Gunderson through a modern lens. This contemporary feel allows us to empathize and laugh along with them, finding an immediacy and intimacy we recognize in our own friendships. Ultimately, the play focuses on the power of connection between women, creating moments that are timeless, accessible, and outrageously funny.

“The fast-paced, modern dialogue is the kind of thing you'd see on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel or The West Wing. That really drew me in,” says director Lauri Smith. “I also loved the relationships between these female characters. Their connection and the strength of their friendships as they bear witness for each other helps them find the courage to do truly revolutionary things – and make us laugh while doing it!”

The four badass female characters at the heart of the play are based on actual historical figures and concepts. In 1791 the real Olympe de Gouges (“the feminist polemic”), wrote the treatise A Declaration of the Rights of Woman and The Female Citizen, exposing the hypocrisy and failure of the French Revolution to further gender equality. Using wit and humor, The Revolutionists dramatizes the writing process behind France Preserved, or The Tyrant Dethroned, an unfinished play found among her papers. 

The real Charlotte Corday (“the noble assassin”), outraged by the obscene mass killings held during the 1792 September Massacres, blamed journalist and firebrand Jean-Paul Marat for the bloodletting. In an effort to avenge the violence Marat incited, 24-year-old Corday assassinated Marat on July 13th, 1793, stabbing him to death in his bath.

During the French Revolution, (“the infamous queen”) Queen Marie Antoinette's lavish style became symbolic of the disparity between the royals and the poor. She was eventually accused of adultery, lesbianism, and even of having an incestuous relationship with her son. She refused to acknowledge this last charge directly in her final trial, responding instead by seeking solidarity with the other mothers in the room. 

The final revolutionist featured in the play is Haitian activist Marianne Angelle (“the freedom fighter”), an imagined leader of the fight for Haitian independence, which occurred alongside The French Revolution. Her character draws inspiration from revolutionary icon “La Marianne,” an idealized caucasian image representing French spirit and values, and typically depicted wearing a red Phrygian cap, a garment worn by emancipated Roman slaves. This symbol continues to resonate over 200 years later, as depicted in the French Olympic logo and throughout modern French culture. Post-revolutionary depictions of La Marianne as a black or Afro-French woman—”La Marianne Noire”—generate controversy in France by calling attention to the powerful ripples of colonialism in France's present day, and by pushing back against attempts to exclude non-white people from their full French identity. Playwright Lauren Gunderson captures all this, and the as yet unrealized ideals of France's Liberté, Egalité, Franternitié (Sororité), in the character Marianne Angelle. Marianne embodies a reclamation of identity in revolutionary and contemporary French culture as a fully realized character, not simply a vision or a guide.

“Theatre holds a mirror up to life,” says Lauri Smith,” and Gunderson's play reflects the whole of reality. From the modern language, to the dissonance between where we are now and the true equality we strive for, to the loose ends and questions, the fact that things in this play aren't tied up with a bow reflects the uncomfortable truth that this work for equality is ongoing … ”

The ensemble cast of The Revolutionists includes Rachel Brown, Devon deGroot, Jennifer Greene & Shawn Oda. Production team includes Lauri Smith (director), Michael Barr (producer & sound designer), Franny Beck (dramaturg, costume designer), Jordan Beck (production assistant), Steve Egelman (sound designer and engineer), Lissette Chao (stage manager), Jax Steager (lighting designer) and Umut Yalcinkaya (assistant director & set designer)

About Theatre Lunatico

Theatre Lunatico is a fully vaccinated and boosted company. All audience members are requested to be fully vaccinated and masking is optional inside the theater. Performers will be unmasked during the performance. We reserve the right to change our policy in order to comply with federal, state and local requirements.

Theatre Lunatico is a Berkeley-based, ensemble physical theatre company devoted to narratives that place women center stage through the unique interpretive lens of our storytelling and commitment to gender parity casting. More information is available at www.TheatreLunatico.org. Following The Revolutionists, the company plans to produce the absurd, deliciously dark comedy The Moors by Jen Silverman in October, 2024.

Tickets

Tickets are Pay What You Will: suggested donation is $30, or $15 for students and artists. Advance tickets are available at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theatrelunatico/1195618 or can be purchased at the door subject to availability. For more information visit www.theatrelunatico.org/the-revolutionists/,

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