Soul Asylum

This weekend, take a break from studying or tear yourself away from the Grille to see The Insanity of Mary Girard. I saw the show last weekend at a rehearsal, with no sets, no costumes and before any of the final runs had taken place and still I enjoyed it, although enjoyed may not be quite the word to use for a play that is so disturbing.

The play tells the story of Mary Girard, a real woman who, in the 1790's, was placed in an asylum by her husband. Throughout the piece, author Lanie Robertson asks "Is Mary Girard truly insane?" The seeming insanity of the Furies, figments of Mary's imagination, conflict with her seeming reason as she questions her fate. It is up to the audience to decide.

But whether Mayr Girard is insane or not, Insanity leaves no doubt about the inhumanity of ancient mental institutions. Robertson illustrates in shocking detail the primitive treatment of the mentally infirm in days gone by. The cackling of the Furies as splinters were placed under the thumbnails of patients or as patients were thrust into freezing cold baths is enough to chill the blood. The play also discusses the plight of women, which is no coincidence as director Miriam R. Asnes '02 is a women's studies concentrator. Mary Girard, like many women of her time, was legally under the power of her husband. It was under his orders, not a doctor's, that she was confined. Brydie L. Andrews '01 gives a powerful performance as Mary Girard, showing us the strength of a woman in untenable circumstances. Although she is defenseless against the will of her husband, she is never pitiful.

But for all the power of her husband, this production's Stephen Girard (Jesse M. Shapiro '01) does not come across as the richest and most powerful man in the fledging United States, nor does he appear to be the intimidating abuser of his trophy wife. Shapiro, originally the assistant producer, does not yet have the presence required by the role, but I have faith that by opening night he will have gained the missing elements of the character. After all, anyone who has been in a production knows that things often come together in the last week of rehearsal. Similar improvement can be expected of The Furies who collectively give a solid, if not yet electrifying, performance as the dancing fragments of Mary's mind.

Throughout the play the audience is horrified by the asylum, and shocked at the idea that people would come and gawk at the poor inmates. But by the end, the audience has become the people peering in the windows to see the lunatics, making for an uncomfortable feeling after the show.

It is precisely this feeling that makes this show, the first regular season production in the Loeb Ex, unmissable.

THE INSANITY OF MARY GIRARD

written by

Lanie Robertson

directed by

Miriam R. Asnes '02

Through October 21

Loeb Experimental Theater

written by

Lanie Robertson

directed by

Miriam R. Asnes '02

Through October 21

Loeb Experimental Theater