Standing before me is the caretaker of a cemetery. He’s old, dirty and lecherous, and he is accused of murder – of decapitating a young lady and selling her bleached skull to science. Her body was found in his woodshed and, frankly, it doesn’t look good for him. Everyone expects the guillotine, and for him to be decapitated in kind. But something’s not right.
Standing before me is a young woman, visibly distraught at having discovered the man she loves dead in his bed. She was found at the crime scene and is the only real suspect, but society loves her and wants her to walk free. How could someone so delicate do something so barbaric? But something’s not right.
Standing before me is Citizen Capet, better known as King Louis 16th, the last king of France. He is an enemy of the Revolution and the trial feels like a formality. The decision in the hearts and minds of the fevered French public has already been made. But something’s not right.
