A History of the RSC in 50 Objects (Online)

Sheet Music

The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade, 1964

Playwright: Peter Weiss

Director: Peter Brook

Music by: Richard Peaslee

Given the length of the full title of Weiss' 1963 play, it is not surprising that it is generally shortened to Marat/Sade. There is no official music for the play. However, this score by Richard Peaslee is often used in English productions.

The RSC's production of Marat/Sade was the first since its translation into English from German. It was part of the 1963 season at The Aldwych, the RSC's London theatre. This season, together with Peter Brook's exploratory and uncensored work at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), were surrounded in controversy. Brook was exploring 'Theatre of Cruelty'. This is the idea that actors in the theatre must be cruel to make the audience face a truth that they do not want to see. The theory was developed by French playwright Antonin Artaud.