Arizona Theatre Matters presents a special staged reading of EVEN UNTO DEATH, on October 4 at the Glendale Main Library

After the Flames: New Play Explores Joan of Arc’s Mother’s Fight for Justice

Arizona Theatre Matters will present a special staged reading of Even Unto Death, a new play by acclaimed playwright Jeanmarie Simpson, on Saturday, October 4 at 2:00 PM at the Glendale Main Library. Admission is free and open to the public.

Set in the days after Joan of Arc’s execution, Even Unto Death is an intimate portrait of a family in the shadow of unimaginable loss. At its center is Isabelle Romée, a mother moving through her daily chores—baking bread, folding linens—while carrying the weight of a daughter burned at the stake. In her quiet kitchen, grief collides with memory, and the love that endures becomes its own form of resistance.

“It only takes one daughter to crack the sky.”

Performed with both voice actors and Artistic Sign Language interpreters, the reading integrates accessibility into the heart of the performance. Following the reading, the creative team will host a post-show discussion, inviting audience feedback to help shape the recorded version for ATM’s YouTube channel.

Playwright and director Jeanmarie Simpson was inspired by the real-life petition of Isabelle Romée to overturn Joan’s conviction twenty-four years after her death — a petition that led to Joan’s exoneration. “I wanted to give voice to the woman who carried her sorrow the way others carry breath,” Simpson says. “This is not a story about Joan’s victories or even her horrific death, but about the mother who could not rest until Joan’s name and memory were cleared.”

Event Details:

Date: Saturday, October 4, 2025

Time: 2:00 PM (90 min + discussion)

Venue: Glendale Main Library

Admission: Free