For
whom the guillotine tolls
By Elizabeth Prata
Community Little Theatre believes in presenting
quality productions. From its superior cast, stellar
acting, and authentic sets, the audience can expect
a worthwhile experience.
For the Scarlet Pimpernel, a production to
be held in air conditioned Lewiston Middle School
in August, the set designers scoured far and wide
to ensure authenticity for its centerpiece- the
guillotine.
The setting of the Scarlet Pimpernel is during the
bloody French Revolution, when the guillotine was
used to lop off the heads of hundreds of thousands
of French citizens. Incongruously, the best guillotine
plans were found in Denmark. "They were for
a model," CLT carpenter Phil Vampatella of
New Gloucester said. Vampatella is also cast as
the Executioner. "We brought in an architect
to bring the device to full size and then we built
it."
The set guillotine stands 15 feet high and the real
blade thunders down the chute when Vampatella releases
it.
"There are many safety issues in place,"
Production Director Richard Martin said. "There
will be two scenes when we use the machine, but
there has never been a head in the yoke and so the
beheading will be done by illusion, of course,"
Martin said.
The question is, what to do with the machine post-production?"
Martin said. It's not like there's a huge call for
a guillotine these days. It's definitely not child-proof
and most people are partial to their heads. "Most
likely we will dismantle it," Martin said.
Vampatella as Executioner is undergoing some real
pain, though. To complete his authentic look, he
has had to grow his hair "It's driving me crazy."
And most cutting of all…Phil must shave his
mustache. Ouch.
The musical production will be on August 20-29 and
will be staged at air-conditioned Lewiston Middle
School, Central Avenue. Tickets are $13 and $11
for seniors and full time students. Curtain is at
8 pm and 2 pm for Sunday matinees. Reservations
may be made by calling the box office at 783-0958
or accessing the theatre's website at laclt.com.
Guillotine
facts and historical timeline
Information gathered by Kevin Upham
Designed by Dr. Joseph Guillotine, a man described
as kindly and who wanted to make execution more
humane, the guillotine quickly became a symbol of
tyranny during the French Revolution.
Victims were placed on a bench, face down, and their
necks positioned between the uprights.
The actual beheading was very quick - often to the
gathered crowd's disgust - taking less than half
a second from blade drop to the victim's head rolling
into the waiting basket.
However, debate rages over whether the quickness
of the execution was humane or not, as many doctors
put forward the notion that it could take up to
30 seconds before the victim lost consciousness.
That piece of gruesome news would not have worried
the crowd, which continually called for aristocratic
and royalist blood to be spilt.
An estimated 40,000 people travelled on the tumbrils
through Paris to die under Madame Guillotine.
Facts and Figures
Total
weight of a Guillotine was about 1278 lb
The blade weighed over 88.2 lb
Height of side posts was just over14 ft
The blade drop was 88 inches
It fell at 21ft a second
It took 2/100 of a second for the head to be cut
off
Power at impact was 888 lb per square inch
The
Monument: Prata photo
