Review: LA SALPÊTRIÈRE at Taffety Punk

Originally on the site of a Paris gunpowder factory, La Salpêtrière was built under the direction of King Louis XIV as a hospital in 1656. Not that hospitals were meant for medical treatment. Instead it was meant to hold the destitute and outcasts of the city - orphans, the insane and prostitutes. 

With a capacity of 10,000, it was one of the largest “hospitals” in the world. Stormed during the French Revolution, it was also a place where doctors could experiment on treatment of the mentally ill as early as the 18th century and became a place where hysteria in women was diagnosed and treated.

It’s a rich field for the first play from Taffety Punk Theatre company member Kelsey Mesa in which to explore treatment of women then and how, aspects of the controlling patriarchy and the battles to break out of it and  maintain some semblance of sanity and freedom.

The fact that it was devised during the pandemic is also somewhat reflected in her “La Salpêtrière”, receiving its world premiere, directed by Danielle A. Drakes, at the Capital Hills Arts Workshop that is the company’s home.

Kimberly Gilbert, Fabiola da Silva and Yihong Chen star as three hospital inmates in similarly white, diaphanous 19th century gowns (by Johanna Presby). Da Silva, as a newly admitted patient is as first mute, as Chen and Gilbert flit about. They each have a way to cope with their incarceration — Chen’s character flirts with the Le Docteur and uses dancerly movement (Danny Puente Cackley) to get favor; Gilbert’s Antoine takes a more cynical approach, with the actress bringing wit and comic nuance to the part.  

As the newcomer learns of the horror of her situation, there are screams and outbursts. Aspects of prescribed hysteria fit well with the punk rock origins of Taffety Punk — built on  blending dramatic movement and experimental expression. In this, Lorraine Ressegger-Slone has her hands full as intimacy, fight and movement director. 

Likewise, the confines of the black box theater are well adapted to their hospital cell. The set by Daniel Flint gets is variations (and occasional explosions) through the lighting of Elijah Thomas.

Cackley’s role as well-dressed Docteur is the most one dimensional. A natural villain, his go-to treatment is a punch to the uterus. He puts the women on humiliating display at well-attended lectures and demonstrations, in which he frequently makes the chosen women bark like dogs. In turn, their eventual method of rebellion has to do with roaring like lions, a century before Helen Reddy put such sentiment in song. 

When a  building revolution outside the walls provide the possibility of freedom, it comes  with its own frightening array of choices, opening the notion of what the viewer will do with theirs.

Running time: About 90 minutes, with no intermission.

Photo credit: Kimberly Gilbert, Yihong Chen and Fabiolla da Silva in ‘La Salpêtrière.’ Photo by Cameron Whitman.

“La Salpêtrière” runs through Oct. 14 at Capitol Hills Art Workshop, 545 7th Street SE. Tickets available online. 

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