Joan of Arc is one of the most iconic figures in recorded history, a girl who heard the voice of God and subsequently became her country’s most famous heroine only to be executed for heresy at nineteen. Today, almost 600 years after her death, she lives on as an icon and martyr, although few study what that really means. The story of Joan of Arc has been misinterpreted, misunderstood, and accordingly, misrepresented for centuries. Jehanne of the Witches, while paying tribute to an uncommon kind of hero, humanizes her; Clark forces us to recall that before she was Joan, she was Jehanne, and that before she was celebrated, executed, beatified and canonized, she was merely an ordinary person touched by the extraordinary.
Jehanne of the Witches is directed by Toronto native Alexandra West, whose age belies her experience, talent, and vision. West is no stranger to tackling iconic female subjects, having dissected Othello’s Desdemona in 2005’s Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief (Concordia University). No stranger to the other side of the bullhorn, she has performed as an actor and a dancer in Toronto, Montréal, New York, and New Orleans. Portraying Jehanne is Jessica Hill, a powerhouse performer and one of Montréal’s most-loved actresses. Past credits include May in Fool For Love (Montréal Fringe) and Holly in The Lady Smith (Black Theatre Workshop) for which she was awarded the Elsa Bolam Award. John Hastings, recently seen in Saving Céline (Say Cheese Productions), interprets Jehanne’s enigmatic partner Gilles de Rais alongside an all-star cast that features some of Montréal’s best and brightest.