GILLES AND JOAN

'Confessional' deals with the relationship, factual and imagined, between Gilles de Rais, medieval serial murderer and France's warrior-saint, Joan of Arc. They famously fought side by side against the English; their army broke the Siege of Orleans, which was a turning point in the struggle of the Dauphin of France to regain his territories. 

Joan of Arc is an intriguing figure: whether you consider her a saint or early feminist icon, a mystic or a schizophrenic, her life and actions had a profound impact on the outcome of the bitter struggle between the two nations. Burned as a witch in 1431, she was exonerated in 1456 by a tribunal appointed by the Pope, and eventually canonised in 1920.

Both Gilles and Joan played a significant role in the crowning of the Dauphin as Charles VII of France in 1429. Why did Gilles not attempt to rescue Joan from her accusers during her trial in Rouen? In 'Confessional, he is literally haunted by the question as his own trial reaches its inevitable conclusion.