PLAY SYNOPSIS
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France 1817. The French Revolution is over for all except one. Théroigne de Méricourt has stepped out of the revolution and into the asylum. Left unsupervised, she spends her final days crafting her life's great work, an opera about the revolution she never left behind. As the self-cast leading lady of her own imagination, Théroigne performs to an illusory audience and a standing ovation.
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ABOUT THE MADWOMAN
Written by Cara Johnston, THE MADWOMAN is inspired by true events!
Born Anne-Josèphe Terwagne in present-day Belgium, Théroigne de Méricourt was a failed opera singer, who travelled across Europe as a courtesan, settling in Paris just before the Bastille was stormed. She became swept up in the early stirrings of the revolution and became a significant figure during the French Revolution for her activism in advocating for women's rights and her participation in revolutionary events. She was sent to La Salpêtrière Hospital in 1807, where she spent the final decade of her life, intermittently lucid and speaking constantly about the revolution. She died on 8 June 1817.
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“See Théroigne, by blood and fire enraged,
Hounding a shoeless rabble to the fray,
Who plays herself on a flaming stage,
As she climbs, sword in hand, the royal stairway.”
- Charles Baudelaire
from SISINA, published in 1859
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THE MADWOMAN debuted at Paradise Green The Vault in Edinburgh, Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, August 4-28 2022.
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WRITTEN, DIRECTED, AND PERFORMED BY
Cara Johnston
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PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Courtney Miles
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COSTUMES DESIGNER
Courtney Miles
COSTUMES CONSTRUCTED BY
Jerry Miles
SET PAINTING
Courtney Miles
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PHOTOS BY
Ejay
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THE ARTISTS
The Miles Sisters would like to additionally thank the following people:
Frank Del Corral, Jennifer Vosters, the many friends who bought us coffees in Edinburgh
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