Thais the Whore is a Catholic saint who began as a celebrated courtesan of 4th Century Egypt. She was converted to Christianity by a zealous monk who locked her in a convent cell and essentially left her to die, all the while praying for her soul.
The story inspired a great many works of art, the most familiar of which is probably Massenet’s opera Thaïs. But in The Conversion of Thais the Whore, Farmatic Productions presents a translation of the play Pafnutius by Hroswitha of Grandersheim, a 10th-century German nun who is sometimes known as the first female playwright.
Farmatic certainly deserves credit for presenting a play by a historical female playwright, but, unfortunately, this production doesn’t live up to its potential.
Much of the time, the actors seem to be struggling with the text, with its sometimes-archaic language and rhyming couplets. Thais (Chelsea Thaler) and the monk Pafnutius (Noah Cooper-Hauser) make an admirable attempt at letting the emotion of the work shine through, but I couldn’t help but think that they needed a few more weeks of rehearsal to feel fully comfortable.
The overly-minimalist set design certainly didn’t help. The only scenery was a canvas sheet on the floor, painted with some kind of imagery, but even from the second row I couldn’t tell what it was. A change in scenery was indicated by the removal of the top layer of canvas to reveal another, with equally-unintelligible images. Additionally, the entire cast was clad, for the most part, in simple black pants and white or black T-shirts. This made Thais’ “whore” get-up—a sequin skirt, bustier, fishnets, and heels—seem all the more ridiculous. I found it distracting, especially as we were supposed to believe Thais was in a state of desperate sorrow and repentance.
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The Conversion of Thais the Whore
by Hroswitha of Gandersheim
30 minutes
at Fort Fringe – The Shop
607 New York Ave NW
Washington, DC, 20001
Details and tickets[/wpcol_1quarter]
This show is also very short. I raised my eyebrows at the 30-minute run time listed in the Fringe program, and it feels rushed. I was familiar with the story of Thais beforehand, but if I hadn’t been, I would have had a difficult time figuring out what was going on. I would like to see the actors take their time with the text and allow the ideas presented to sink in. I think that this play could easily be 60 minutes, rather than 30.
Overall, Thais the Whore is a decent starting point for what could later become a good show, but it isn’t there yet. Aas a feminist, I also have to say kudos for presenting one of Hroswitha’s plays and increasing the exposure of this important historical playwright.