Johanna

“You are excited
because you have accepted the fight.
The fight for your own life.
You don’t know how the fight will be,
but you know that you will fight.
You don’t know if you will win,
but you damn well want to try.
The wind is blowing in the right direction.”

In “Johanna” by Cornelia Rainer, Joan of Arc meets Johanna, a young woman of today. As a girl, Joan of Arc heard voices telling her that she was chosen to free France from England’s siege. So she set out to meet the king, donning men’s clothing to go into battle. At just seventeen years old, Joan led an army to liberate Orléans. But the men at court worked against her. After the failed assault on Paris, Joan was betrayed and burned at the stake as a heretic in 1431.

The  Johanna of today is a girl on the brink of adulthood. She wants to belong while finding her own path. Parents, teachers, fashion trends, and ever-faster developments exert constant pressure on Johanna. The rote school knowledge does little to help her navigate the harsh realities.

Johanna hears many voices and doesn’t know which one to follow. Yet, determined, she wants to overcome her fears and immerses herself in the life of her namesake from the 15th century. Johanna imagines herself being like her: brave, bold, confident. She refuses to accept that many children, teenagers, and even adults today believe there is nothing left to believe in. Johanna wants to lead the way—she wants to be Joan. And so, she gradually finds her own voice, helping her to make her own decisions.

Cornelia Rainer’s play is represented in the Thomas Verlag catalog and can be performed as a monologue or with multiple actors: Any number of actresses can share and multiply the character of Johanna, who has much to tell, much to learn, much to fight for, and much to discover. The Johannas change locations, alternately stepping into the character of their respective environments and moving between centuries at “theater speed.” A play about identity, role models, and the search for one’s true self, it addresses the question of young people’s self-determination in today’s world.