Danton's Death - National Theatre

Danton's Death 

by Georg Büchner 

in a new version by Howard Brenton 

Background pack 

The National's production 2 

Introduction 3 

The protagonists 4 

The events of the play 6 

Elliot Levey on playing Robespierre 9 

Extracts from the rehearsal diary 11 

Further production detailsls: 

nationaltheatre.org.uk 

This background pack is 

published by and copyright 

The Royal National Theatre 

Board 

Reg. No. 1247285 

Registered Charity No. 

224223 

Views expressed in this 

workpack are not necessarily 

those of the National Theatre 

Director 

Michael Grandage 

Discover 

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London SE1 9PX 

T 020 7452 3388 

F 020 7452 3380 

E discover@ 

nationaltheatre.org.uk 

Photo (Toby Stephens) by Hugo Glendinning 

Poster designed by Charlotte Wilkinson 

Workpack writer 

Lisa Spirling 

Editors 

Emma Gosden and Ben Clare 

Design 

Lisa Johnson 

Rehearsal and production 

photographs 

Johan Persson 

discover: National Theatre Background Pack 1

The National’s production 

Dantonists 

Georges Danton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Toby Stephens 

Legendre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ashley Zhangazha 

Camille Desmoulins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barnaby Kay 

Lacroix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gwilym Lee 

Hérault-Sechelles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Max Bennett 

Julie, Danton’s wife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kirsty Bushell 

Lucile, Desmoulins’ wife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rebecca O’Mara 

Marion, a prostitute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Eleanor Matsuura 

Members of the Committee of Public Safety 

Robespierre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elliot Levey 

Saint-Just . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alec Newman 

Barère . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phillip Joseph 

Collot d’Herbois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chu Omambala 

Duplay, Robespierre’s landlady . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Judith Coke 

Eléonore, Duplay’s daughter . . . . . . . . . . .Rebecca Scroggs 

Elisabeth, Duplay’s daughter . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Nestor 

Herman, President of the Revolutionary Tribunal . .Michael Jenn 

General Dillon, prisoner in the Conciergerie . . . .David Beames 

A Lyonnais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ilan Goodman 

Citizens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stefano Braschi 

Jason Cheater 

Emmanuella Cole 

Taylor James 

David Smith 

Jonathan Warde 

Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Grandage 

Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Christopher Oram 

Lighting Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paule Constable 

Music and Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adam Cork 

Company Voice Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeannette Nelson 

Staff Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lisa Spirling 

This production of Danton's Death opened 

in the National’s Olivier Theatre on 22 July 2010 

Toby Stephens as Georges Danton 

Photo by Johan Persson 


Introduction 

Danton's Death is the astonishing début 

play of Georg Büchner written in 1835 when 

he was just 21. Set in 1794 at the bloody 

climax of the French Revolution, the play 

charts the final days of the revolutionary 

Danton as he faces the demons of his past 

and his ever present struggle for survival. 

Robespierre, previously a friend but now 

sitting in judgement has the heavy task 

of deciding Danton's fate and a titanic 

struggle begins. The play is of such scale 

that it is infrequently staged in the United 

Kingdom but with it's historical weight, vivid 

characters, exceptional rhetoric and universal 

themes of the basic rights of man it presents 

an irresistible challenge for a director and 

their creative team. 

This production, in an adaptation by Howard 

Brenton, seeks to encapsulate the energy 

and life force of revolutionary times with an 

exhilarating on-rush of scenes that builds 

Toby Stephens in Danton's Death 


in momentum to a brutal finale. Staged without 

an interval and within a flexible space, there is the 

intention that the revolution should feel right outside 

the walls and that those involved are doing all they 

can to keep up and stay alive. The play and this 

production celebrates the art of rhetoric and what it 

is to live in a time when theoretical discussions and 

arguments drove men to action and to changing their 

country. 

This background pack gives you an insiders' look 

into the rehearsal process, the research and the 

ideas that went in to putting the show together. The 

pack includes an outline of the happenings of the 

play both on stage and off, along with interviews and 

extracts of the rehearsal diary to give an insight into 

how this production built up to what we see on the 

Olivier stage now. 

Lisa Spirling 

Staff Director 


The protagonists 

Georges Danton 

As a leading figure in the early stages of the 

French Revolution he was the first President of 

the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in 

the onset of the Revolution has been disputed; 

but many historians describe him as the chief 

force in the overthrow of the monarchy and the 

establishment of the First French Republic. By 1794 

he was a moderating influence on the Jacobins, he 

was guillotined by the advocates of revolutionary 

terror after accusations of venality and leniency to 

the enemies of the Revolution. 

Robespierre 

One of most influential figures of the French 

Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre dominated the 

Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental 

in this period of the Revolution, known as the Reign 

of Terror which ended with his own arrest and 

execution in 1974. His supporters called him "The 

Incorruptible". 

Danton, Robespierre and Marat in a wine shop © Bettman/CORBIS 

Camille Desmoulins 

A revolutionary journalist who became part 

of Danton’s inner circle. He wrote the political 

pamphlets La France Libre and Vieux Cordelier. 

Having attended the same school as Robespierre 

they were once close friends and Robespierre was 

the godparent of Camille’s child. 

Lacroix 

A lawyer described as having “loud lungs and a 

hungry heart” (Thomas Carlyle). Part of Danton’s 

close circle of friends. 

Hérault-Sechelles 

A politician, president of the Legislative Assembly 

and the Convention who affiliated with Danton. 

As a member of the Reign of Terror's Committee of 

Public Safety, Hérault was chiefly concerned with 

diplomacy. Hérault was accused of treason, and 

after being tried before the Revolutionary Tribunal, 

was condemned at the same time as Danton. 


The protagonists (continued) 

St Just 

A close ally of Robespierre he served with him on 

the Committee of Public Safety and was heavily 

involved in the Reign of Terror. Anything Robespierre 

wanted to get done St Just was sent to do it. 

The Duplays 

Robespierre resided within the Duplay Household 

and was tended to by Madame Duplay and her 

daughters Elizabeth and Eleonore. 

Collot 

A prominent figure on the Committee of Public 

Safety, having been previously an actor and 

an essayist, he administered the execution of 

more than 2’000 people in Lyon and supported 

Robespierre in his usurping of Danton. 

Toby Stephens in Danton's Death 


Barrere 

A politician and journalist who became a member of the 

National Convention and the Committee of Public Safety. In 

March 1794 he was part of Robespierre’s faction. He was 

to be the last surviving member of the committee of Public 

Safety. 

Julie 

Danton’s wife. Danton was actually married twice. There is 

no mention of this in the play and in staging the play we have 

taken Julie to represent his first wife, imagining that she did 

not die. 

Lucille 

Camille’s wife. 

Marion 

A prostitute based at the Palais Royale. 


The events of the play: onstage and offstage 

Events in italics do not take place on stage. This 

gives context for the company to fill in the gaps 

of what is talked about in the play or relevant 

historical events of the period. 

Discover more about this period: 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror 

23 March Robespierre and Danton are together at 

the Montagnards (a political group apposing the 

Girondists). 

24 March The Herbetists have been guillotined. 

Discover more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

H%C3%A9bertists 

25 March: Day One in Danton’s Death 

Legendre, Camille, Lacroix and Hérault have come 

from the Place de la Revolution where the guillotine 

executions take place. 

Act 1, scene 1 

It is early evening, around 6pm. Danton, his wife 

Julie and his friends (the Dantonists) are enjoying 

themselves at the Palais Royale. Danton gives a 

sense of his apathy towards the Revolution and his 

desire for the killing to stop. 

26 March: Day Two of Danton’s Death 

In the morning, immediately before Act 1 scene 2, 

the Paris mob attacks an aristocrat; Robespierre 

breaks it up and deals with the extremists. Elisabeth 

and Eleanore witness it. 


At around midday Robespierre speaks to his 

landlady, Madame Duplay, about the mob attack. 

Throughout the scene he is aided in getting ready to 

go to the Jacobin Club by Madame Duplay and her 

daughters Eleanore and Elisabeth. 

Discover more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobin_club 


Approximately 2pm at the Jacobin Club. A Jacobin 

from Lyon speaks to the group in an attempt to 

Danton (Toby Stephens) and Julie (Kirsty Bushell) 


rally them to action in defence of the Revolution in 

Lyon. Legendre (a Dantonist) speaks of the need for 

action in Paris; Collot (a member of the Committee 

of Public Safety) assures him that the Revolution 

is in full flow and they have a handle on things. 

Robespierre speaks to the Club, making it clear that 

his new enemy, after getting rid of the Herbetists, 

are the moderates and the lovers of vice. Without 

naming names, it is clear Robespierre is referring to 

Danton. 

Discover more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_ 

of_public_safety 


Lacroix tells Legendre off for speaking at the 

Jacobin Club and for putting the spotlight on the 

Dantonists. Lacroix tells Legendre that he is going 

to find Danton at the Palais Royale, probably with a 

prostitute. 

Herault has gone to see Robespierre at the Tuilleries. 



(continued) 


Approximately 6pm, at the Palais Royale. Danton 

and Marion (a prostitute) are kissing; Marion tells 

Danton of her first experience with a man and 

reaffirms the epicurean principle that what matters 

is what gives you pleasure. 

At some point that afternoon St Just sees Danton at 

the Palais Royale surrounded by prostitutes and the 

crowd. 


Robespierre works late at the Tuileries Palace. 

9pm, Tuileries Palace (Offices of the Committee of 

Public Safety) 

Robespierre and Danton argue. Danton leaves. 

St Just arrives and they discuss the tactical attack 

on Danton. 

Danton goes to speak to the people on the ground. 


Middle of the night at Danton’s home. Danton has 

a night terror about his actions in the September 

massacres; Julie (his wife) comforts him. 

27 March: Day Three in Danton’s Death 


Early morning, around 8am, at Danton’s house. 

The Dantonists; Lacroix, Camille, Herault and 

Lacroix (Gwilym Lee) and Danton (Toby Stephens) 


Legendre arrive to try and convince Danton to 

act in his defence against Robespierre. He leaves 

them all to go to the Palais Royale and insists the 

committee will not dare to arrest him. 

St Just has spent the day getting other signatures 

from the Committee of Public Safety for the 

warrant for Danton’s arrest. 


10pm at the Tuileries Palace (Offices of the 

Committee of Public Safety). Robespierre is at 

work. St Just brings the warrant for Danton’s 

arrest, requiring Robespierre’s signature. 


10.30pm at the Palais Royale. 

Danton, Camille, Lucille and others, are in limbo, 

discussing a play. A warning arrives that the 

Committee of Public Safety have decided to 

arrest Danton. 

Danton leaves for the country. 

Herault leaves for the Tuileries Palace. 

Lacroix goes to the raly people on the ground. 

28 March: Day Four in Danton’s Death 

Herault is arrested and imprisoned at the 

Luxembourg Palace. 

29 March: Day Five in Danton’s Death 

30 March: Day Six in Danton’s Death 


Having been in the countryside for a few days, 

Danton decides to take action and return to Paris. 

31 March: Day Seven in Danton’s Death 


Daytime. Some deputies in the National 

Convention discuss the threat that Danton’s 

arrest poses to them. Legendre appeals to the 

Convention that Danton should be tried by 

them rather than the revolutionary tribunal. He 

wins their support, until Robespierre and St 

Just intervene and demand that Danton should 

have no special privileges and that this stage of 



(continued) 

the revolution with all its bloodshed is necessary. 

Danton must be tried like everyone else. 


Luxembourg Palace (which has been turned into 

a prison for political prisoners). Danton and the 

Dantonists are arrested and imprisoned. They meet 

General Dillon, a Girondist who went into hiding 

when the Girondists were purged and was then 

caught. He challenges Danton about his previous 

actions, arguing that all Danton has done and said 

has come back to him now. 

1 April: Day Eight in Danton’s Death 

2 April: Day Nine in Danton’s Death 


At the Tuileries. Collot and Herman conspire to 

select reliable anti-Danton jurors to decide his fate. 

3 April: Day Ten in Danton’s Death 


The Revolutionary Tribunal, session 1. 

Danton stands up to Herman. The jury reminds all 

present what he has achieved for the Revolution 

and demand that his accusers appear. The session 

is suspended and the crowd support Danton. 

4 April: Day Eleven in Danton’s Death 


Julie reads what the newspaper says about the first 

session. 

Session 2 of the Tribunal starts. 

St Just has immediately taken the President of the 

Tribunal’s (Herman’s) notes to Robespierre once 

the second session ends but Robespierre doesn’t 

respond. 


Members of the Committee of Public Safety (Collot, 

Barrére and St Just) meet to discuss Danton and 

the second session and what to do next. They 

decide to write an emergency decree. 


At the same time, Danton, Lacroix, Herault and 

Camille are placed in a tough prison called the 

Conciergerie in between the 2nd and 3rd session. 

St Just goes to write the emergency decree. 


Collot and Barrere look over the emergency 

decree that St Just has created. Herman panics 

slightly about the outcome of the 2nd session and 

prepares to go into the final one with a decree that 

stops Danton’s right to defend himself. 


The third session of the revolutionary tribunal. 

Danton is stopped in his defence by the decree. 

He challenges the committee and is dragged off 

with his fellow Dantonists. St Just speaks to the 

crowd and poisons them against Danton and 

encourages them to follow Robespierre. 

Julie’s servant Madeline is present at the tribunal. 


Julie speaks about Danton and how they are killing 

him out of fear. She gives her locket to Madeline to 

pass to Danton, saying she won’t see him like this. 

5 April: Day Twelve in Danton’s Death 


4am. Knowing these are their last hours alive the 

Dantonists talk through the night about life and 

loss. 


Lucille is outside the prison, calling out for Camille. 


The 'Final Four' are in the Conciergerie on the 

morning of their execution, supporting and 

energising each other. The warder arrives to take 

them to the guillotine. 


Julie makes a farewell to her life and to Danton as 

she prepares to join him on his final journey. 


At the Place de la Revolution, Camille, Herault, 

Lacroix and Danton are executed. 


Elliot Levey on playing Robespierre 

What kind of research did you undertake into the 

life of Robespierre? 

When you read more than one historical book, you 

see the same facts displayed. It’s day one of modern 

history. Just about everything he says in his speeches 

has survived, often second hand, but fairly accurate. 

They are more or less verbatim versions of his 

speeches, which read as if they were written giving 

you an insight into how he delivered his speeches. 

One of the recurring themes in research is that he is 

clearly not very good at public speaking. He had a 

terrible voice, was absurdly timid and a very nervous 

public speaker. What’s interesting about Robespierre 

and very revealing about his character is that he was 

clearly nervous but would then talk about his fear. 

For a massive political figure who reached that power 

he must have had absurd courage or oddity to talk 

about his shortcomings: that was the most exciting 

moment in research. When you read and read it’s all 

very interesting, but when you’re researching to act 

it’s a very different part of the brain. The acting bit 

of the brain kicks in and you are drawn to elements, 

which the ordinary reader might not find most 

interesting. This little bit of insight into his psychology 

is glorious for the actor. It shows you that he played 

his vulnerability, which tells you as an actor that 

the only way to talk about his vulnerability was to 

counter it. It’s interesting, in The Habit of Art [by Alan 

Bennett], the play I’ve just done, WH Auden says, 

“style is the sin of one’s imperfections”. What does 

that mean for Robespierre? It means that to posses 

that kind of self-knowledge, to have that sense of your 

shortcomings and to spin them and make something 

bizarrely winning about them is so exciting. It’s exciting 

because it’s what many actors are like. 

Did your research paint a very different picture of 

the character to the play? 

If I was researching Robespierre, not playing him, 

would I have picked up with such interest, certain 

traits I picked up? I’m understanding Robespierre 

through Buckner and Brenton to a certain extent. In 

our play there’s no talk of him being a bad orator, in 

fact he’s good. To a certain extent he wins people over 

with the power of his oratory. If you’re a Stanislavskian 

actor and you do your homework you go to a play and 

list all the references that other people say about you 

and what you say about yourself, so what was really 

interesting is that so many people say things about 

Robespierre when he’s not there. Some of them have 

to be true and many of them in this play are. They’re 

historically and theatrically true and all the interesting 

things about him are said when he’s not in the room. 

How the actor and the director choose to play with 

them or disregard them is something to be found in 

rehearsals. An example: Julie and Danton talk about 

Robespierre’s lack of sex. The truth is we don’t know. 

He may have been a sexual beast and he was so 

good at spinning his own image we have no real idea. 

Hilary Mantel in the novel A Place of Greater Safety 

absolutely tickles out the idea that there’s homosexuality, 

or bisexuality or his confused sexuality and there’s every 

indication that he was sexually in love with Camille, 

possibly with Danton. 

What happens when you’ve done the research? 

What happens when you’re done researching and you’re 

absorbed in the rehearsal process is you massively reject 

history. Its necessary and its also really satisfying. You 

shove loads of stuff in a metaphorical suitcase and you 

get rid of it. 

What’s Robespierre really like? 

The best thing I read was Hilary Mantel writing a review 

of Ruth Scurr’s biography of Robespierre and its very 

clear. Mantel says it emerges that for Robespierre “the 

incorruptible was also the unpredictable. He was a 

vociferous bundle of contradictions. He idealised the 

people and distrusted profoundly anyone who tried 

Elliot Levey in Danton's Death 



Elliot Levey on playing Robespierre (continued) 

to speak for them. He distrusted the very structures 

of representation that he had to put in place. He saw 

power and he despised it.” He was timid, physically 

unappealing – he doesn’t look like a revolutionary. Lots 

of people fell in love with him. He was a very vain little 

man. He was a very prissy clothed man with his little 

wig. People were cutting their hair short and embracing 

rugged clothes. When I was a student in the early 90s 

the middle classes wore donkey jackets and aped 

the working classes. You reject the bourgeois for the 

accoutrements of the working class. He doesn’t follow 

the trend. Robespierre had the sense of self-awareness. 

“I’d feel like a burke if I conformed” he probably thought. 

What do you want the audience to think of him? 

It’s a question I can’t really answer. What does he want 

the people in the play to think of him? Even in the middle 

of the most climactic moment in history he always had 

his eye on posterity. It’s like that moment when Tony 

Blair said “the hand of history was on his shoulder”. The 

fact that he said that made it hysterical. It’s like having a 

moment about writing your memoirs in your memoirs. It’s 

that awful meta-theatrical thing. Both of the big speeches 

he has are almost verbatim - from the day it takes place. 

Why had Buchner cut and pasted these speeches in the 

way that he has? Robespierre’s speeches were written 

by him to have an effect. He’s not obviously speaking of 

Danton, but the play acts at being subtle, but does it in a 

brilliant crude way, which is delightful but difficult to play. 

How do you play bad acting? 

What is your process? 

It varies from show to show, but I don’t have a process. 

And the only rule is there are no rules. Michael Grandage 

was keen for lines to be learnt before rehearsals. It 

means you can start rehearsing much sooner. It means 

you have to do lots of homework so the lines you are 

locking down you’ve got are right. You do spend the rest 

of your time unpicking. Being cast early, I could churn 

my way through Eric Hobsbawm, Ruth Scurr and Simon 

Schama without having to worry about the script, then I 

read the script a lot, made all those instinctive decisions, 

then just read more until just before rehearsals. I stopped 

reading academically then started reading actorly. It requires 

the opposite of academic rigour: empathy, feeling, 

looseness. 

Also for Buchner Robespierre has a theatrical function. 

He is the antagonist. He stops at the end of act 2 and 

disappears. He is a classic device in that way, albeit a 

fully fleshed interesting device. You could just play him 

as the baddie and yet he was the most fantastic champion 

of the universal rights that we talk about today. He 

was calling for legislation for all sorts of things such as 

universal suffrage - things we take for granted in Western 

Europe. He campaigned for the abolition of the death 

penalty and slavery. Even giving voting right to Jews 

and actors, who at the time were despised. He was a 

hugely liberal spirit. He was originally a pacifist but then 

he had to save the revolution. Buchner was a revolutionary 

but not in a revolutionary time. He was writing in 

the 1830s so it was recent history. Danton’s mistresses 

were probably still alive. It’s like writers talking about 

Thatcher now. 

What’s changed since you first got the script to the 

end of rehearsals? 

The change hasn’t been revolutionary but it has been 

evolutionary. What I’m doing now is connected to day 

one but massively evolved and defined. There will be 

further refinement in performance. 

Elliot Levey in Danton's Death 



Extracts from the rehearsal diary 

The journey from day one of rehearsals to the 

technical week on stage is impossible to capture 

fully. If you asked any of the company on opening 

night for the minutiae of how we got there, they 

would be hard pushed to explain it all in detail. 

However, the notes on the following pages – made 

throughout rehearsals – are highlights of some of 

the ideas, discussions and inspiration that took 

place, interspersed with information that gives 

a sense of how some rehearsal days panned out. 

Week One 

Monday 

Director Michael Grandage and designer 

Christopher Oram talk through the model box with 

the company of actors. Key ideas include the use 

of light as a major indicator of time-of-day and 

location. Along with this is the use of sound to 

create the world surrounding the play, outside and 

inside. 

We work through the play on its feet and in the 

space immediately. One of Michael's main methods 

of working is to have the actors explore the text 

within the space, this helps to get us out of the habit 

of working in our heads on the text, to lift us off the 

page and in to the play. The rehearsal room is set 

up with a replica skeleton structure of what we will 

have on stage. We look at each scene briefly to see 

what initial ideas and instincts come about. 

By immediately looking at the scenes in situation 

the sound designer Adam Cork is able to spend 

the first week seeing the whole play worked on (as 

opposed to working through it slowly, sitting around 

a table) in order that he and Michael can discuss 

composition and the arc / shape of the piece. 

ACT 1 SCENE 1 

At this stage, the actors are given complete freedom 

to cross the room if they want, and to interact with 

different groups. The cast consider a variety of 

options, including: 

1. Does every character in the room know each 

other? 

2. Does your character belong to the Palais and are 

you there to serve? 

3. Are you drinking? 

4. What has gone on in the moments before? 

Everyone was asked to make a note of what they all 

did. 

Michael Grandage in rehearsal 

photo: Marc Brenner 


Extracts from the rehearsal diary (continued) 

ACT 1, SCENE 2 

Background and asking questions 

It was a big decision for Michael Grandage and 

playwright Howard Brenton (who wrote the 

adaptation) to remove the mob from the play: 

Büchner was influenced by Shakespeare in the 

writing of the mob. We have been mindful that in 

taking it out, we didn’t want to lose their presence, 

as they are key to understanding the play. 

This is a scene that Büchner didn’t write: Brenton 

has taken the events in the original and turned them 

into a reported domestic scene that introduces us 

to Robespierre and the women (the Duplays) who 

worshipped him. The scene is set at the Duplay 

house where he had lodgings. Madame Duplay 

adored Robespierre and it was his sanctuary. 

Toby Stephens (Danton) and Eleanor Matsuura (Marion) 

in rehearsal 


ACT 1 SCENE 3 


We share company research about the Jacobin 

Club. It started as a moderate club and heralded 

the beginning of political parties. You would pay 

for membership, but the clubs weren’t legislative. 

The Jacobins would vote to print something and 

that pamphlet would take on a political agenda 

and then be on the streets. There is the question 

of is it dangerous to be in attendance here – or the 

opposite, if you are not here it arouses suspicion. A 

sense of 'you are either with us or against us!' 

We talk about what it is to be in the same room 

or in the company of a political leader. Whatever 

your political leanings, being in their presence often 

impacts on you, so you can feel like a 'rabbit in the 

headlights'. This scene demonstrates Robespierre’s 

position in society and so how the listeners focus on 

him is vital. 

ACT 1 SCENE 5 


Discussions of the inner life of the play come out of 

the scene being spoken out loud in situ with actors 

able to make discoveries as they play the scene and 

not just through textual analysis. 

The scene opens with Danton and his prostitute 

Marion. Marion’s speech illustrates epicurean 

philosophy, the philosophy of pleasure that the 

politics of the play is built upon. 

Toby Stephens, playing Danton, expresses that 

‘She articulates what I am already feeling, she is not 

necessarily teaching Danton anything. He is already 

leaning towards this way of thinking. It chimes with 

something that is latent in him. It is like my escape.’ 



ACT 1 SCENE 6 

Questions 

- What is the Timeframe and timing of this scene? 

- Where are we? We are at The Tuileries Palace 

which is the office of the Committee of Public 

Safety. 

- How much of this scene has happened when we 

join it? 

- Is it a point of tension, that is released by the 

opening line? 

- How reluctant is Danton to be there? 

- How big is their need to communicate? 

- Sound Design – there is a need to create 

something here that takes us out of the scene 

before and brings us here, into the city. 

ACT 2 SCENE 1 

Background and Asking questions 

We see clearly here the impact of the September 

Massacres on Danton and as a continuous theme 

throughout the play. 

ACT 2 SCENE 4 

This scene is potentially a lull in the action where 

we see the protagonists waiting for something to 

happen. This creates a strange tension that prompts 

the subject matter we see to be discussed. 

It is interesting to look at why Danton does not act 

and what is motivating him at this stage? Ideas 

suggested are that presumably if he was to act even 

more people would die, Danton is distressed and 

tired of that. It also says something extraordinary 

about the people surrounding him that no one else 

steps up to lead. 

Company discussions 

Every few days the entire company are brought 

together to discuss various key themes of the play, 

such as the historical references, the political terms 

and each of our various insights into the work. 

Robespierre’s virtue 

The virtue mentioned in the play is not a direct 

equivalent to the modern day English meaning of 

Virtue. For Robespierre it corresponds to his nature. 

There is a question of whether Danton’s embracing 

of indulgence and decadence is something that 

Robespierre cannot handle. Danton’s sensuality 

gives Robespierre a cause to fight against and we 

sense he took it all very seriously 

Classical references as inspiration 

The playwright references comparisons to classical 

civilisations that were made throughout the French 

revolution and not just in his version of events. The 

Roman model of the republic was in many respects 

the template for the French Revolution. Interestingly 

during the Russian Revolution they used the French 

Revolution as inspiration. 

ACT 2 SCENE 5 


Danton is out alone in the open country. Whilst 

this is an exterior scene, it gives us an insight into 

the interior of him. There is a gloriousness to the 

speech, it goes on a journey, has ambiguity but also 

has it’s own arc. 

Elliot Levey (Robespierre) in rehearsal 




We embark on a discussion of Atheism and Danton’s 

connection with it. Is he experiencing nihilism and how 

does that connect with him giving up? 

ACT 3 SCENE 1 

Background and Asking Questions 

The actors who have played Deputies in the previous 

National Convention scene now have to take on 

another character, this has implications on their 

through-line through the play and also costume. In 

terms of the citizens (which is the word we use to 

describe the additional unnamed characters), Michael 

Grandage is keen that we have a continuous flow 

of citizens to create the world of the play. These are 

representative of hundreds of people all the time, 

however it is vital that in each scene the identity of each 

character the actor plays is as clear to them as it is to 

us. There is a sense that we are striving for fantastic 

clarity in each moment of the piece. 

When working through this scene it is great to discover 

that it never settles; it is constantly active. It works well 

compositionally to have the existing prisoners start off 

stage right as the others enter stage left, at which time 

the existing prisoners can gather round with Dillon, 

cutting through the greetings. 

Taylor James and members of the company in rehearsal 


ACT 3 SCENE 6 

Discoveries on the rehearsal room floor 

As a company we have to get into the head of what 

it must be like to be a part of something that is so 

much bigger than you. The closest we have to it is 

9/11, knowing you are living something that is going 

to become historical. In these times people step up 

to lead. We need to communicate these characters 

existing and functioning in extremis: everything is on 

instinct. For example it is interesting that Lacroix looks 

to God but Danton doesn’t. This scene is in some 

respects a demonstration of how they each deal with 

their fear in approaching death. 

ACT 3 SCENE 8 


The Third Tribunal, which we join in full flow. We see 

the Committee of Public Safety, use the decree to 

change the rules, end the tribunal and suggest that 

the jury have enough evidence to make their decision. 

At the beginning of the scene the crowd is 

on Danton’s side but by the end via St Just’s 

encouragement they are shouting in support of 

Robespierre. 

Discoveries on the rehearsal room floor 

The scene demonstrates how this production 

will work with an extraordinary level of collective 

responsibility. In only half a page of text we can help 

an audience understand the volatility of this period by 

bringing to life exactly what happened when St Just in 

Danton’s absence was able to turn the crowd. 

In order for this extraordinary turnabout to work we 

need to create an almost 'orchestral' style to the 

crowd response. To achieve this we start with the 

chant of ‘Danton Danton’ getting bigger and bigger 

and closer into unison. Once the first citizen speaks 

the actor must keep up the momentum but create 

space for it to be heard. Then when St Just speaks 

the actors must allow for the direction to be thrown 

and potentially send their characters in different 

directions. 



Week One 

Friday 

The process is to work through the entire play each week 

with an expectation that when we come pack to it we 

will have moved on and are able to build on all that has 

gone before. The company are invited straight into the 

space and work through the scenes both physically and 

internally. 

ACT 1 SCENE 1 


The company are asked to consider: 

- Where have you come from? 

- Why are you here? 

- What circumstances have you come from? 

- What is the imagined half page before we have joined 

you? 

Discoveries on the Rehearsal Room Floor 

In rehearsal we consider the practicalities of a three line 

opening encounter between Julie and Danton before the 

entrance of the rest of the Dantonists. There is a need 

to hone in on the couple before the big entrance. From 

initially focusing on a couple, the men’s entrance opens 

the whole room up. 

Elliot Levey (Robespierre) and Toby Stephens (Danton) 

photo: Johan Persson 

ACT 2 SCENE 5 

Something that came out of today’s session was that 

we shouldn’t give the impression that Danton has 

come to terms with his impending death. He goes 

close to it and then lets ‘they won’t dare’ energise it. 

Even the despair is fuelled by something more. 

ACT 4 SCENE 6 

We discuss the final moments of the play and the 

style in which the guillotines will take place. There is 

uniformity and sharpness to it that we hope will fit with 

the style of the play. 

Week Three 

By week three of the rehearsals the play has been 

worked through in its entirety and each scene is 

building up in detail, emotional depth and momentum 

every time we revisit it. Notes and ideas, as can be 

observed below, are fed in to various scenes as 

required. 

ACT 2 SCENE 4 

The energy that opens this scene is proving quite 

difficult to decipher. Potentially the scene could start 

in a silence that Herault feels compelled to break. This 

idea is tried and then we play with the idea that the 

scene opens and they are discovered in place in a 

tense slightly feverish mode, awaiting news. Danton 

is disconnected from this and when he tunes in to the 

chatter it is to cut through it. 

Once the news of Danton’s arrest comes through, a 

shift occurs and the energy of the room transforms. 

ACT 2 SCENE 5 

We look at how Danton is revealed in the space, we 

follow the idea that he would run on, stop for breath 

and in the pause ruminate and decide to return. We 

think about what makes him stop, is he deluding 

himself, or is this the moment of clarity when he 

decides to go back and fight. 



ACT 3 SCENE 3 

Michael Grandage talks to the company about the 

context and weight of this scene. In particular this is 

the first moment where we see Danton being exactly as 

he is remembered historically. Technically we have the 

responsibility of delivering the revolutionary leader how he 

is best known into his natural habitat. 

Toby Stephens (Danton) 


Week Three 

Thursday 

Language of the Scene Changes 

The scene changes have a theatricality, fluidity and 

language of their own. Michael works with the company 

and sound designer Adam Cork to create this language. 

Michael takes time to work through with the company the 

details of how each transition will work, so for example 

light fading slowly on the final speaker in the scene, 

windows opening, exiting, entering and scene starting. 

This helps to ensure the company don’t feel vulnerable or 

disjointed by the process. 

Week Four 

Thursday 

At this stage the whole company are brought together 

and congratulated on what has been achieved so far. 

We start to run a few scenes together and sound is 

introduced. 

While there is time to look at all moments in detail as 

required, we are now creating something together with 

sound and lighting and gradually build to full runs of the 

play. There is a desire to celebrate the stage we are on 

(the Olivier) and recognise the need for distance and 

breathing space upon it.

Danton's Death - National Theatre

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