Act I Summary

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Marat/Sade unfolds in the bath hall of an insane asylum at Charenton, set several years after the French Revolution. The play begins with the Marquis de Sade making final adjustments for a performance he has written, featuring the asylum's inmates as actors. Among the audience are members of the French aristocracy, including Coulmier, the clinic's director, and his family. As Sade signals, Coulmier and his family enter, while the actors, a ragtag group of patients, wait anxiously.

Coulmier introduces this "play within a play" by highlighting Charenton's modern, advanced treatments, which incorporate therapy through education and art. The Herald identifies the main characters: Sade seated in his dais, Jean-Paul Marat in his bath, and Charlotte Corday. Additionally, there's Duperret, who persistently pursues Corday, and the radical priest Jacques Roux. The Herald explains each character and outlines the plot, noting that Corday is coming to Paris to assassinate Marat in his bath.

The cast then pauses to pay homage to Marat and briefly discuss his significance. This segment concludes with a recurring refrain throughout the play:

Marat, we're poor and the poor stay poor/Marat don't make us wait any more/We want our rights and we don't care how/We want our revolution NOW.

As the refrain is recited, emotions heighten, causing the patient-actors to become agitated, prompting the asylum's nurses to restrain them. Coulmier protests to Sade about the disturbance, urging him to maintain control on stage.

Corday is then introduced, and her role in the play is further explained. Marat, attended by his mistress Simonne while in his bathtub, declares, "I am the Revolution." Corday makes her first attempt to reach him by knocking at his door. Simonne sends her away, reminding her she must come three times before being admitted. The Four Singers narrate Corday's visit to Paris, to which she responds. Meanwhile, Marat, still in his bath, criticizes the ruling class's behavior post-revolution, and the patients mime an execution, playing with the severed head by kicking and tossing it around the stage. Coulmier interrupts the performance, suggesting that such violence is not beneficial for the patients. The Herald reassures everyone, noting that the play is discussing past events. Sade and Marat then engage in a dialogue about life and death, with Sade reflecting on war and the impersonal nature of death. He questions whether Marat has become an aristocrat for criticizing Sade's lack of empathy.

Marat condemns the current system, criticizing how the church has been used to keep the poor submissive by glorifying their suffering. This is too much for Coulmier, who once again questions Sade about the cuts in the play they had supposedly agreed upon. Sade and Marat continue their dialogue, with Sade suggesting that Marat's health might be of paramount importance to him. Marat then lashes out at the ruling class, lamenting the continued oppression of the people.

Duperret is introduced and converses with Corday about her plans. However, he (or the patient portraying him) becomes more interested in touching her, requiring his attention to be redirected. Sade mocks Marat, questioning the legitimacy of the revolution and emphasizing that everything ultimately boils down to personal interests. Roux speaks up, advocating for a continued revolution of the masses, but he is restrained. This is too much for Coulmier, who again protests the unfolding events in Sade's play. Roux appeals to Marat, prompting Coulmier to demand that the scene be cut. Sade continues his discussion with Marat, talking about confronting the criminal within himself while Corday beats him. Marat sits in his bath, asking for pen and paper to jot down his thoughts. He wonders aloud whether the revolution has truly improved things, while Sade questions Marat's ideology.

Corday makes a second attempt to see Marat but is turned away. Sade taunts Marat about the motivations behind joining the revolution. Marat is visited by voices from his past and feverishly pleads for help in writing down his ideas. The act concludes with the patient/actors repeatedly demanding revolution.

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Act II Summary

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