It is the spring of 1431. A young French peasant girl is locked in a tower in the castle of Rouen. Her name is Joan. Her crime is claiming to hear the voice of God.
But the voice is gone now, and Joan is alone. Her king, her people, and her God have all abandoned her. A powerful English noble, Richard, Earl of Warwick, is intent on having her tried, found guilty, and burned at the stake. The bishop presiding over her trial is more concerned with formality than justice. Her only ally seems to be Brother Martin, a young Dominican who desperately wants to save her from the flames.
Joan is all too aware, however, that there are some fates worse than death. As she struggles to find the strength she once had that is now gone, Richard, Martin, and even the bishop surprisingly shift alliances in response to Joan’s quest to find the voice within her once again.
Dark Night of the Soul tells the familiar story of Joan of Arc in a new way, distilling its passion into the few days at the end of Joan’s life. The action moves swiftly between a cell and a large hall turned into a makeshift courtroom where the audience becomes the judges of Joan’s final trial.
The play can be performed with a minimal set and a cast of four.
Dark Night of the Soul 