| Maps of Desire is about a group of women writers who, in the late seventeenth century, would gather in their Paris salons to try out their fairy or wonder tales on each other before publication. Frequently in trouble with King Louisa XIV these remarkable writers packed their tales with magical transformations, sexual ambiguities and ironic comment in their pursuit of a utopian world.
Amongst this exotic group of friends we meet the well known Charles Perrault, whose salutary story Riquet with the Quiff is brought vividly to life by the cast. Other stories include the beautiful but tragic myth The Island of Happiness by his niece Mme Catherine D`Aulnoy, the comic Adroit Princess by Mme L`Heritier and the delicious cross-dressing tale The Counterfeit Marquise attributed to Perrault, and the other member of the salon, the defrocked Abbé Choisy.
The production was inspired by Wonder Tales, edited by Marina Warner, and is the result of research and development workshops led by Bruce Myers from the Peter Brook company at The Jerwood Space with eighteen actors and two musicians. Marina Warner was involved throughout as literary advisor. A work in progress performance took place at The French Institute, as well as a talk by Warner on these fascinating women writers.
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