Summary

A bell rings behind the stage and the curtain rises to show the bath hall of the asylum. A circular arena takes up the center stage and to the right is a dais for Marat’s bath and to the left is a dais for Sade’s chair. To the left at the front of the stage is a raised area for Coulmier and his family. Coulmier gives a prologue of the play, citing the author as Sade and introducing the characters.

The herald knocks the floor three times with his staff and opens the play by noting Marat’s place on the stage and the yellow tint of his skin due to his skin disease. The actor portraying Marat is a paranoiac. Simonne Evrard waits upon Marat, changing his bandages. Charlotte Corday waits at the side of the stage in her pretty clothes...