Directed by Iain McAleese
Adapted by Kenny Burnham
A Journey Around My Room
As the French Revolution rages, a courtier on the run in Turin is placed under house-arrest and finds his journey has only just begun…
CAST:
Xavier De Maistre: Paul Goodbrand
Joanetti, Dr Cigna: Euan Galbraith
Soul: Martin Smillie
Mme De Hautcastel, Plato: Carmen Jongepier
Beast, Doctor: Tommy Jay Brennan
Aspasia, Guard, Shepherdess: Mariel McAllan
Hippocrates, Guard, Christophe: Kenny Burnham
Carmen Jongepier
Trained at Royal Conservatoire Scotland. Credits include films Synced by Devon Avery and XX with Daniela Nardini.
Martin Smillie
Studied Acting & Performance at Glasgow Clyde College.
Mariel McAllan
Trained at Trinity College London. Film credits include Nigh Kaleidoscope and The Cruelty of Beauty.
Iain McAleese - Director
Trained in Community Theatre Arts at Rose Bruford College. Specialises in devised physical theatre and artistic director of Theatre Revolution.
Tommy Jay Brennan
Graduated from Reid Kerr College and has appeared in a number of films.
Paul Goodbrand
Trained at the Royal Conservatoire Scotland and has worked with Scottish Opera.
Euan Galbraith
Appeared in Stark Theatre's previous production of 100.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Poster design : Carmen Jongepier
OVERVIEW & CONTEXT:
Which mode of travel would you choose to explore your room?
In 1790, Xavier de Maistre chose to travel by chair, a bumpy ride as described in his diaries Voyage Autour de ma Chambre (A Journey Around My Room). In the age of the great explorers, De Maistre, a French courtier, had planned to embark upon a great exploratory adventure of America. However his predilection for duelling resulted in his house arrest for 42 days whilst in Turin. Upset by this turn of events, he instead decided to embark upon a journey much reduced in scope. Published in 1794, his diaries (unusual at that time) went on to be a best seller.
In 2016, I adapted the diaries for a planned performance by Stark Theatre. The issue with any diary is that you have only one view point, in other words, only a protagonist. Whilst that is an interesting read, it is far less engaging when staged. Research revealed how it came to be that De Maistre, a French man, might happen to be in Turin: the French revolution. And so, I appropriated the diaries to reflect the context of the day. Whilst under house arrest, De Maistre had been assigned a servant, Joanetti, who is regularly referred to throughout the diaries. I made Joanetti the antagonist, favourable towards the aims of the revolutionaries, and a counter point to De Maistre’s royalist sympathies. Journey is ultimately a story about an unlikely friendship brought about by necessity.
In April 2016, A Journey Around My Room, was performed at The Mackintosh Church, Glasgow for three consecutive nights. It was Stark Theatre’s last production.
