In the Year of Our Lord 1495…
by Marie Robertson
In the middle of the Burning Times in 1495 France, a young man and woman forge a close friendship in prison while awaiting their trial on the charges of witchcraft. The trials and tortures are led by a zealous priest, but what are his true reasons for leading the witch hunts? Presented by award-winning company Troupe de la Lune.
June 21st, 2008 at 11:22 am
I went to the opening night show last night with my wife. It was much more powerful than I thought it was going to be.
There are parts that make you really think and there are some emotionally charged scenes that even made my wife cry.
All in all, I was glad that I went to see it.
Bravo to the crew for pulling off such a memorable piece of theater.
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
This is the most superficial, cliche-ridden, insightless, junior high school play that ever attempted to pose as serious theatre for an adult audience. Ideas about witch trials that might occur to any twelve-year-old after five minutes’ reflection formed the basis of this drama, to which an interesting but undeveloped notion that tragedy might be relieved by being witnessed, understood, and appreciated by others was appended at the last minute in a desperate effort to add at least some thought to this inspid piece. The work was a thoroughly anachronistic perception of 1495 pedanticaly presented by characters whose intellects were obviously formed by the Reformation, the Enlightment, Positivism, and Existentialism. A heavy dose of feminism, with the women constantly educating witless men, and only females and a gay man representing the forces of good, rounded out this mindlessly preachy essay posing as art. The lack of depth and realism threatened at every moment to cause the production to lapse into outright comedy, and when the priest ‘tortured’ the woman by scratching her back with a gardening tool I almost burst out laughing. The audience, which had the good sense to acknowledge this hack-work with only a modicum of polite applause, left the theatre enlightened by the playwright’s profound insight that the witch trials were a bad thing after all.
It would be unfair to criticize the actors who were all too new to their craft to breathe life into such a thoroughly wooden play, but if they had taken care to learn how to pronounce the name of Kraemer and Sprengel’s famous ‘Malleus Maleficorum’ (don’t they teach Latin in school any more?) they might have given a touch of realism to this wasted hour of stagecraft.
The work of Kraemer and Sprengel is available in an English translation by Montagu Summers, and those interested in the complex reality of the actual witch trials may wish to consult this book, as the playwright should have, in order to appreciate what a profoundly rich subject for dramatic treatment by a serious artist this topic actually is.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Wow, Mr. Barnaby, your “critique” of the play, “In the Year of Our Lord, 1495″ makes me want to see the play even more so! Have you ever heard of the use of “imagination” when attending a theatre production? Do you want every production to be like the works of Strindberg and Zola with the Naturalist and Realist theatre movements? Does the phrase, “suspension of disbelief”, ring a bell with you? I am fine with people writing critiques about plays, but when they are trying to sound almighty with their thesaurus, then I get really turned off. Not only that, but you come across as being unintelligible and pretentious. Next time, be constructive when critiquing works.
Sincerely,
Someone who cannot wait to see “In the Year of Our Lord, 1495″.
June 24th, 2008 at 12:17 am
Very powerful, somewhat disturbing, excellent acting by the entire troupe. The actor who played the zealot priest was dark, foreboding and oddly arousing. Very dark show, not for the faint of heart.
June 24th, 2008 at 4:08 am
This is the second year I’ve sat through the drivel which is Jer’s Vision’s productions. It’s a shame that the charity associates itself with such utterly painful shows. As mentioned above, this is the level expected from middle school and high school productions. Reading Max’s comment makes me wonder if perhaps the name is an alias for someone involved with the production, and if not, makes me wonder why on earth he’d want to suffer through it. Please Jer’s Vision, associate yourself with a good show, or don’t associate at all!
June 24th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
While some aspects certainly leave something to be desired (e.g., props and dramaturgy), the actors work through a very different kind of story that seems to attempt to be more though-provoking than anything else. It is the Fringe after all — somewhere to play and to try things out and hopefully give the audience something to take with them, be it a good joke or a topic for discussion. In this case, it is clearly the latter. So, like it or hate it, on the level of ideas, it’s something worth seeing.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Line 7: …thought-provoking…
Evil typos.
June 24th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I thought that this play was absolutely fantastic! As someone who has an interest in the Spanish inquisition and the later witch trials I especially liked how it showed that not only were the individuals persecuted for ‘witchcraft’ but for being outside of ‘normal society (i.e. Roma & homosexual).
I felt that the actors/actresses were excellent in portraying the raw emotion that these individuals would have felt in these times and was pleased with how they acted out this difficult tale.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I went to see this play and I really enjoyed it… Though now I feel weird saying I enjoyed a play that includes two very convincing torture scenes…! While I don’t think it brought any new ideas, it still managed to get a strong message out in a very short time. The minimal setting and lighting and heartfelt performances (I was especially impressed with the girl playing Catherine) help make the script even more powerful.
I recommend it, though it’s not for the faint of heart!
June 24th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
I saw the play on opening night, and I thoroughly liked it. Some of the critiques must have been to some extraordinary high schools to compare this play with high school theatre. I walked away with the message of hope, and understanding, and that life is what you want to see in it.
I choose to see the good, and walk away enlightend.
If you choose to see the bad, or you feel you already know all there is to know, too bad for you.
Kudos to all the crew and cast!
June 25th, 2008 at 6:45 am
I know that some critiques have been negative, but they have it all wrong!
This was an amazing show, and one of my favorites of the festival so far (and I have seen about 12). I really loved the writing and the acting…
It may be a youth company, but they are some of the best theatre of the Fringe!