Drama:

In his programme note to Unity Theatre's production of Shaw's Saint Joan, Ralph D. McAllister states his purpose - to present the problem of the Individual v Authority. A familiar situation and one which can very easily degenerate into blacks and whites. Fortunately Ralph McAllister's method militates against this. His method is to strip the play of all trappings, dispense with naturalism's periods and costumes, and concentrate solely on the conflict between the two factors. This has the effect of forcing the audience's attention on the essential - the anatomy of the characters, in particular, St. Joan.

When this is done, they are seen to be far from simple. Joan is proud, innocent and idealistic. Yet she upholds the now very discredited concept of Nationalism - a corollary and often a cause of racial tension and international disharmony. The Earl of Warwick and Peter Cauchon, at first appear as facets of a bigated bureaucracy, yet Cauchon's cosmopolitanism appears as remarkably enlightened. Likewise Warwick's comment that Mohammedanism and Christianity are "only cast and west views of the same thing."

This production illustrates the many varieties and combinations of religious and secular zeal. In scene IV we see three different examples. Peter Cauchon regards Joan as a heretic and a threat to the solidity of the Catholic church. Warwick, whose concerns amount to the purely secular, fears that Joan will invalidate the aristocracy. The Chaplain instinctively regards the maid as an unnatural (she dresses in men's clothes) sorceress. Then there is Joan herself, passionately convinced that voices from God guide her actions, but equally aware that the English will not yield to prayers'.

What emerges, is a balanced conflict in which the strengths and weaknesses of both sides are exposed. Coupled with this, we gel the dramatic biography of a remarkable woman - a woman in whom pride and humility, genius and naivety co-exist.

Thematically then, Mr. McAllister's production is successful. However its very intimacy and concentration places a great burden on the actors and the majority of them collapse under it. If one is going to produce a play in this manner, one must have a uniformly good cast. The cast of St. Joan is very unequal. It is sustained solely by a small group of excellent, key performances. Michael Haigh performs well as Cauchon and Scene IV is a success because of the splendid way in which Warwick (Brian Howlett) and Stogumber (Peter Sakey) work with him. As the Inquisitor, Murray Alford delivers the longest (and most ironic) speech in a wholly engaging manner. Rod Jenkins is well cast as the Dauphin and provides a touch of comedy.

However the justification for a trip to Unity is the quality of the two Joans. Heather Eggleton captures well the enthusiasm, inspiration and naivety of Joan but she is inclined to throw away her lines and to indulge in loose emotion. This is not to denounce her performance, but simply to say that it lacks the conviction of Jean Belts. Jean Belts fits Ralph McAllister's production perfectly. She maintains a hold on the play from beginning to end. She conveys her spiritual inspiration in her scene with the weak Dauphin and her frustration when confronted by bureaucracy in Scene V. Her emotional climax in the trial is all the more moving for being perfectly controlled. Both Joans compensate for the indifference of the remaining members of the cast.

The epilogue is well placed between the scenes and the ritualistic climax of the play is genuinely horrifying. "Can I come back to you a living woman", asks Joan - the answer is to be found at Unity theatre.