Sainting Joan, at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory

Joan of Arc – was she a saint or a sinner?

She was an illiterate peasant girl who believed she was acting under divine guidance when she guided the French army to victory in 1429.

What she did was, indeed, momentous. 

Photos by Iz Zettl

She effectively stymied an attempt by the English to conquer France during the Hundred Years’ War.

A year after that famous victory, she was captured by Burgundian forces (those French allied with England at the time).

Subsequently, Joan was tried by an ecclesiastical court, condemned as a heretic and burned to death at the stake.

At the time, she was still only 19 years of age. 

In 1830, Joan was declared a national symbol of France and in 1920 she was canonised by the Catholic Church.

While she is the patron saint of France and of soldiers, she is also regarded in the same light by prisoners and those persecuted for their religious beliefs.

Now, Joan has been memorialised in song in a new punk rock musical, in which musical references are many and varied.

They include The Last Dinner Party, The Ramones, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Alanis Moriset, The Violent Femmes and Nick Cave. I loved the sound and the music mix 

The show is the brainchild of Abigail Banister-Jones, who also plays Joan of Arc.

As writer and director, Abigail looked at differing opinions about Joan and incorporated those into the 80-minute production, which is energetic and colourful.

She has blended camp and Catholic imagery into a fruity cocktail.

Eight performers, who play and sing various roles (king, prince, archbishop, general and more), are accompanied by a four-piece band to bring the story to life. Think keys, guitar, bass and drums. 

Musical director and composer Lachlan Obst has done a fine job.

Moving along at pace, some knowledge about Joan and her impact before entering the theatre would be a decided advantage, although certainly not mandatory.

While the eventual outcome of Joan’s trials and tribulations is on the record, the cast has a wow of a time getting there.

Sainting Joan has a decidedly fun element to it that all readily buy into. 

And that is not just about the performances, but the striking costuming. Hannah McGlinchey take a bow.

When the characters are not on stage, they are on two wooden benches either side of it, ready to enter the fray in a heartbeat.

Lighting, too, plays an important part in proceedings, helping to set the tone. The lighting designer is Stuti Ghosh.

With not a spare seat in the house, Sainting Joan brings history to life in a very modern way and it works a treat.