Mary’s Joy
Ian Kirk-Smith talks to Jeanmarie Simpson about her life, work and the play 'Mary's Joy'
Jeanmarie Simpson is an American Quaker actor and playwright. She is bringing her one woman show ‘Mary’s Joy’ to Europe this month and will be performing it in Britain and Europe from February until September. The play examines the life of Mary Dyer, who was the first colonial woman executed in the New World by hanging on 1 June 1660. She died because of her faith.
When did you first encounter Quakerism?
In the fall of 1978, I played Abigail in a production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. [A character] has a line: ‘It is not for you to say what is good for you to hear!… What, are we Quakers? We are not Quakers here yet, Mister Proctor. And you may tell that to your followers!’ I was intrigued, and went to the library and read about Quakers while doing my research for Abby. I always held Quakers up as extraordinary people who were far better than I. It wasn’t until after September 11, 2001, when my country was ripped to shreds by first the terrible destruction in New York, but then by political divisiveness the likes of which I had never seen, that I felt driven to find a spiritual alternative to the aggressiveness, acrimony and ugliness in which social justice activism is often framed. I started hanging out with a group called Sierra Interfaith Action for Peace, some of whom were Quakers, and I began attending Meetings in various cities where I performed and lived (Reno, Nevada; Boulder, Colorado; Tucson, Arizona).
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