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Kris Rothstein's Blog

The Passion Project

Kris Rothstein

The Passion of Joan of Arc. Reid Farrington created this astonishing and powerful installation by combining several versions of the film (it has quite a history, including a negative destroyed by fire, a new cut made from out-takes, another fire and an original print found in a Norwegian asylum), a later soundtrack and a conversation he had with the archivist at the Danish Film Institute while watching some of this rare footage.

Laura K. Nicoll is the performer. She executes a complex and intensely physical choreography for half an hour, creating an emotional experience to rival the film. It is dark and tragic but also ecstatic, something like a martyrdom, I suppose. The film is known for its extensive use of close-ups and that is what we see on each canvas - faces arranged in physical space as the actual actors might have been. And while others appear and disappear, Renee Falconetti as Joan is ever-present. The audience is free to mill around and watch from every possible angle.

If you're interested in performance, film history or anything that pushes boundaries, then see this show. The Passion Project is at the Pacific Theatre until February 6th. And if you have the chance go see the whole film with a new mostly composed but partly improvised score and a vocal text at Christ Church Cathedral on Jan 28th.

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