Mandipa Kabanda Plays Joan of Arc 'Reimagined' For 2020s

Joan of Arc is getting a new take on stage, with Mandipa Kabanda set to play Joan in Saint Joan, a “reimagining” of George Bernard Shaw’s classic play.

Mandipa Kabanda cast as Joan of Arc

Via Citizens Theatre, Mandipa Kabanda headlines the production as Joan in Saint Joan, a Raw Material, Perth Theatre and Aberdeen Performing Arts co-production in association with Citizens Theatre.

The play puts Joan front and center as a young figure who shakes power structures and forces institutions to react.

mandipa kabanda joan — Mandipa Kabanda as Saint Joan

What this Saint Joan is about

Saint Joan is based on the true story of a sixteen-year-old girl who led France to victory in the Hundred Years War.

This new version frames the story through modern lenses, focusing on power, gender, and youth-led change, and how someone from a marginalized background can impact international politics.

The production positions Joan of Arc as the kind of unlikely revolutionary history keeps producing, which makes the story feel pointed in a time of political unrest and war.

joan arc — 1903 engraving of St. Joan of Arc

How the production is being updated for the 2020s

This Saint Joan is described as a stripped-back, close-up staging directed by Stewart Laing (formerly Untitled Projects). It also includes a film sequence written and directed by Adura Onashile, blending live performance with a screen component to push the story’s impact in a modern format.