In Divine Chaos of Starry Things, award-winning journalist Paul Mason explores the agony of the defeat and exile of the Parisian women revolutionaries deported to the remote Pacific island of New Caledonia, their depression and isolation upon arrival and loss of hope as dreams of escape fade and a new reality descends. Tension simmers amongst the island’s indigenous people as resentment and rebellion hang in the air.
Based on the memoirs of 19th century feminist icon and revolutionary Louise Michel, this piece of theatre looks at what happens when downtrodden people experience the transformative power of mass action, only to be defeated. In our current world increasingly scarred by torture, mass incarceration, censorship and razor wire, the play looks at key questions surrounding oppression and resistance; what makes people refuse to surrender in the face of repression and how do people survive once the exhilaration of revolt is over?
About to star in his self-penned show ‘Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere’ at the Young Vic, Divine Chaos of Starry Things reflects Mason’s extensive research of the former French penal colony of New Caledonia, his travels there and his interviews with both descendants of the deportees and oral historians of the indigenous Kanak people. Post-show talks will be held after selected performances, hosted by Mason himself and including an exclusive look at his short video documentary ‘Traces of Louise Michel’.
Mason says: “After the miners’ strike, in 1984, I saw a whole generation of people struggle with the psychological impact of defeat. It made me want to discover how people survive. When I started writing this play, during the mass upsurge of revolt and optimism we call the Arab Spring and Occupy, these problems – of despair in the face of injustice – seemed very distant. They seem totally relevant now. Hundreds of thousands of people have experienced the exhilaration of revolt, followed by the reality of defeat.”
Divine Chaos of Starry Things is at The White Bear Theatre 25th April – 20th May 2017.
