Devils

by John Whiting

Within the cloister of provincial French nunnery at Loudun, rumour has spoken to Sister Jeanne of the Angels of the libertine priest, Urbain Grandier. A vision of him as spiritual adviser to the order possesses her. When the rejects the offer of the Mother Superior, she accuses him of filling the nun's minds through the power of Satan with filth and lust. For the clerics who are jealous of his brilliance in preaching, for the laity who disapprove of his luxury, and for Richelieu, the 'eminence grise' over all France, who resents his political influence, the hysterical possession of the nuns is a sword against Grandier. Their charge for his trial is diabolism.

The Devils, based upon Aldous Huxley's The Devils of Loudun, was commissioned by the directors of the Stratford-on-Avon company and produced at the Aldwych Theatre, London, this year. It has been acclaimed by critics for possessing a power in its writing that has not been evident in the English theatre since the drama of Webster (*publisher description*)

Genres: Plays, Historical Fiction

130 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

John Robert Whiting was an English actor, dramatist and critic.

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Father Urbain Grandier was a seventeenth-century priest of the town of Loudun in France. Although there were civic leaders, it was Grandier who held most of the power. The small town was known for its strong walls, which prevented it from being absorbed into the ever-lengthening grasp of the French King. Or more realistically, it was the infamous Cardinal Richelieu who wanted Loudun’s walls torn down so he could ensure his vision of a state-driven nation, finally eliminating the endless city-towns from the medieval ages. Father Grandier was also a libertine, carrying on affairs with local women, conveying some of his arrogance. When an irate father, upset that his daughter was pregnant with the priest’s child, combined forces with Richelieu’s henchmen, it spelled the end of Grandier and the independence of the fortified town.

This dramatic play by John Whiting was based upon Aldous Huxley’s non-fiction history of the true story of Grandier and Loudun. First performed in 1961 with Diana Rigg and Max Adrian, the play would then be adapted into Ken Russell’s notorious movie of 1971 (there was also an opera based upon Whiting’s play). It’s quite a read, even without seeing it on the stage. It brings up the struggle between the powerful and the poor and how otherwise decent citizens can turn against what they believe in, based upon the words of the rich. As such, it’s a timely reminder for this current century where the Putins and the Trumps and the Bolsonaros, among others, can mesmerize the very people they despise. The dialogue reads as rapid-fire, and I was absorbed all the way through. As always, when we forget the past, we must relive it at some point in time.

Well, every man is his own drain. He carries his main sewer with him. Gutters run about him to carry off the dirt --

Book Season = Winter (ashes too cool to hold)

[sommarbinka]

dużo jedzenia dla myśli, mało jednoznaczności. precyzyjna, “sharp”, zredukowana do esencji – ogrooooomne tematy kompleksowo ujęte w czymś, co czyta się bardzo szybko i co nie spowalnia ani na chwilę. rozmach godny szekspira albo tysiącstronicowego fantasy, bardziej filmowe niż teatralne. niemniej jednak nie wiem, jak ocenić te książkę.

[JD Waggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since there isn't a summary listed, I'll write in the blurb at the beginning:
"Within the cloister of the provincial French Nunnery at Loudun, rumour has spoken to Sister Jeanne of the Angels, of the libertine priest, Urbain Grandier. A vision of him as spiritual advisor to the order possesses her. When he rejects the offer of the Mother Superior, she accuses him of filling the nuns' minds through the power of Satan with filth and lust. For the clerics who are jealous of his brilliance in preaching, for the laity who disapprove his luxury, and for Richelieu, the 'eminence grise' over all France, who resents his political influence, the hysterical passion of the nuns is a sword against Grandier. Their charge for his trial is diabolism."

Sex, lies, death, crazy Catholics--I would love to see this play staged. It was slow going at first, but once it got over introducing all of the plot lines it really picked up in terms of dialogue speed, character involvement, and sinister undertones. It would be very interesting to see how a modern audience would react to this.

[Zeineb · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Yes,Yes.We are flies upon the wall.Buzzing in the heat.That's so.That's so.No,no.We're monsters made up in a day.Clay in a baby's hands.Horrible, we should be bottled and hung in the pharmacy.Curiosities, for amusement only.So.Nothing."(Grandier). For some uncanny reason, this statement seems to sum up the fraility and absurdity of the Human.

Whiting is originally a screen-writer for movies which explains the somewhat telegraphic lines and the lack of specific stage directions suitable for a theatrical performance.

The themes are nothing but intriguing: diabolic possession/blasphemy/confession/priesthood...You know where this is going, I suppose.It is like reading about the end of an "alleged" heretic with all of the drama of inquisition and trial (if there was any at all, though).

There are some passages that really gave me goosebumps because they are so hauntingly beautiful (like the one I quoted at the beginning).

At any rate, I wonder why Whiting is virtually unknown compared to other playwrights because this play sure leaves a mark ( a scar; you decide).

[Moni · Rating 3 out of 5]

While judging a play based only on the script is presumptive, I can certainly see how a wonderfully discomforting and thoughtful play can be made by this script. The play serves I presume (since it was based on a book Aldous Huxley wrote during the red scare) as a cautionary tale of mass-paranoia triggered by the "holier than thou 's" of the world (although this Grandier seemed to have suicidal intentions in order to martyrize himself). What I like about this version of the story is that the nuns discuss amongst themselves whether to keep the charade up, thus disclosing to the audience that the possession is a sham. To anyone dropping by this play or review, I highly recommend finding the movie and watching it at least once. The movie is a overtly political film warning about the unholy Union of church and state, forcing religion on the unwilling and the repression of sexuality.

[Jan-Len · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid stage adaption of Huxley's "The Devils of Loudun" which was closely mirrored in Ken Russel's highly controversial film adaption of the same name. This play is enjoyable but fails to capture the arrogance and audacity of Grandier, the sexual repression of the Ursuline nuns and the absurdly twisted beliefs and exorcisms of Rangier, Barre and Mignon. Despite the volatile and sensitive subject matter, Whiting disappointingly refrained from pushing the boundaries and instead produced a work free of any real risk of controversy ( contrast this with the infamous scene of Sister Jeanne masturbating in the Ursuline convent to thoughts of Grandier as Christ!).

[izzy]

whatever that means ❤️

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm baffled by people who claim to be looking for a good book to read. I'm a librarian and, back when my job still required interacting with the public, I had to perform what they call "readers' advisory." I've read a lot of books, so I wasn't usually at a loss for suggestions, but I couldn't identify with the need. Ever since I learned how to read, I have had thirty or so books that I want to read NEXT. I imagine them elbowing each other out of the way, each desperate for my attention. Now that I'm an old man, I'm very aware that I don't have much reading time left, really, so every book I choose means I'm not choosing something else that mighta been more worthy. I'm fascinated, therefore, by the seeming randomness of the choices that end up filling my dance card*, if you will. Ceaseless old-man self-fascination these days. Senescence is so unattractive.

The D‎evils is one of my favorite movies. Has been since college, when I first saw it and when I read The D‎evils of Loudun , a study by Aldous Huxley (!) of an incident of mass "demonic possession" at a convent in 17th-century France, the book on which the movie and the play presently under discussion are based. I like me some dark stuff and that movie is so dark that Warner Brothers still refuses to make it available for viewing. I had to buy a Korean import with badly synced sound that I have nevertheless watched again and again. In addition to the darkness, I like me some early-modern European history and Oliver Reed is peak sexy in this movie.

The Devils, the play, has been on my to-read shelf for a long time and I happened to read it now for an especially random reason: after viewing my DVD of The Haunting on Halloween, I checked out the excellent cast and director commentary. Richard Johnson, who plays the parapsychologist in that movie, was simultaneously performing the role of Urbain Grandier, the cosmopolitan Jesuit at the center of The Devils, on the West End at night while he filmed The Haunting during the day. I was excited to learn about the connection between two of my favorite movies. This weird, extreme movie only got made because the play had been a hit, which is no surprise - it's like The Crucible but with even more sex. Jason Robards played Grandier when the play got staged on Broadway; Frank Langella played him in Los Angeles.

The play is a brisk read and is the source of much of the memorable phrasing in the movie. I enjoyed most of the dramaturgical choices, but the decision to make a composite character of two women to whom Grandier, in both Huxley's book and the movie, is respectively, sexually and romantically linked, really diminishes one of the principal things that is moving about the story. Grandier's diametrically opposed treatment of the two women demonstrates the effect of a real conversion experience that makes his subsequent determined martyrdom more believable. Even so, I wish I could've seen this on stage. Reading it sent me back once more to the still-excellent film, at any rate.

*Also fascinated by metaphors that refer to things that most of us still alive have never experienced. Looking at you, "balls out," "don't have a dog in that fight" and "tough row to hoe."

[Daniel Lammin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though based on Aldous Huxley's terrific book 'The Devils of Loudun', and the inspiration for Ken Russell's masterpiece 'The Devils', Whiting's play is a surprisingly uninteresting retelling of the case of Urbain Grandier, oddly lacking in passion and tension. A dated play overshadowed by the other incarnations of the story.

[Sam Ruddick · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good. not bad. better than it gets credit for, i'd say, since i've never heard of it getting any credit at all. i wonder why no one has staged this thing recently. world's i.q. much lower than mr. whiting's, i suspect. and he's dead.