The Hunchback of Notre Dame was originally published in 1831 with the title Notre Dame de Paris. 1482, which is an important element to our rendition of the story.
The Hunchback part of the title was added by Americans years later when they published an English version of the book. Our play is by American playwright Tim Kelly, published in 1992 (which is not the Disney animated version).
Imago Dei is the Latin translation for the meaning and significance that humans were created in the “Image of God.” This was a truly revolutionary idea in 1482.
We originally planned to produce this play in our 2020 season, in part, because on 15 April 2019, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire and was getting a lot of attention. Interestingly, one of the reasons that Hugo wrote the book was because in 1831 Notre Dame was already 400 years old and falling apart, which upset Hugo as a passionate activist for the preservation of France’s medieval structures, especially Gothic churches. If you’ve read the book, then you know how much of it is taken up by his preoccupation with the cathedral itself. His book had an effect at the time because his campaign helped spur major restorations to the cathedral about 10 years later.
Back to the fire of 2019. It made headlines around the world. Why? Church structures burn down every day, but this church got special attention because, perhaps, it is the most visited monument in Europe and also because it is such an iconic image of a church as a marvel of human creativity and engineering. Our 9th Hour mandate is to explore issues of faith and spirituality, so the fire of 2019 prompted questions, including “What is the value in today’s world of there being a church in Paris, or in Ottawa, or anywhere for that matter?”
While being faithful to the spirit of the original story, 9th Hour’s artistic team decided to set our rendition in a contemporary setting and look for parallels to what exists now based on what existed in the 1482 setting. For example, our play starts with several characters disparaging and condemning a deformed baby, calling for its death. How many of us have suffered the Quasimodo fate of being rejected and unloved for immutable features – physical appearance, weight, abilities, skin colour, sexuality, other differences, or just for what we think or believe, or for the choices we make about how to live? Quasimodo is a scapegoat for the wrongdoings of others, a social outcast who is ex-communicated from his community. Frollo the archdeacon rescues him and provides him with sanctuary in Notre Dame, a place of refuge where Quasimodo grows into a young man protected from the cruelty of the city’s citizens.
Quasimodo is a scapegoat for the wrongdoings of others, a social outcast who is ex-communicated from his community.
Infanticide was common enough in 1482 Paris, as were other barbaric practices, such as public torture and hangings. Churches did not start as physical buildings in the ancient world but, instead, as communities of people who took care of each other in the face of a very hostile, violent, and unjust one-sided world in which the strong ruled over the weak with unflinching cruelty and exploitation. Even in 1482, there was the aristocracy, the nobles, and then there was everybody else.
Imago Dei is the Latin translation for the meaning and significance that humans were created in the “Image of God.” This was a truly revolutionary idea in 1482. It is a doctrine that shapes the Golden Rule to love “the other” as yourself, no matter how “ugly” you find them. We are all meant to give and receive love, not just the “beautiful” people, the celebrities, the entitled, the wealthy and powerful. In general, the organizing of social order today through politics tends to reject this doctrine, so we end up with distorted Love when individuals and communities get broken by war, hate, injustices, ideologies, technologies, and various evils in this world. In Kelley’s adaptation, we see this distorted love unfold in the play through Frollo’s lust for Esmeralda; and hers for Phoebus; the Captain’s exploitation of Catherine and Claire; Pierre’s worship of Esmeralda’s beauty; and Quasimodo’s unrequited love for Esmerelda. Quasimodo is not a hero in this story (contrary to what the American title might imply) but another tragic victim of distorted love.
We are all meant to give and receive love, not just the “beautiful” people...
Hence the need for a sacred place, a holy ground of sanctuary. Victor Hugo saw the need to preserve such places in the form of bricks and mortar. Today, many of us turn to nature, or meditative practices, or financial security, or online echo chambers. We have the freedom to make choices, and the responsibility to examine their consequences. This is what makes The Hunchback of Notre Dame such a timeless and meaningful story—it calls us to seek true Love, to preserve and protect what makes humanity truly beautiful.
GEORGE DUTCH is Associate Artistic Director for 9th Hour Theatre Company, and is part of the directing team as Dramaturge and Associate Director for The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The show opens October 3rd and runs until October 13th in the west end of Ottawa. Go to the SHOW PAGE for more information, tickets, and showtimes.
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