Saint Joan: every role by lines, words, and stage time

George Bernard Shaw. 33 speaking roles, 29,687 words, about 212 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Joan has the most to say in Saint Joan: about 761 lines and 6,487 words, 21.9% of the play. Saint Joan follows Joan of Arc from her first victories to her trial, with an epilogue years later. Joan has about a fifth of the words and speaks in every section but Scene 4. The other roles are concentrated: Cauchon and The Inquisitor carry the trial, and Robert speaks only in Scene 1.

Speaking roles: 33
Scenes: 7
Words: 29,687
Speech time: 212 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Joan	761	6,487	21.9%	46.3	6
Cauchon	406	3,536	11.9%	25.3	3
The Inquisitor	262	2,403	8.1%	17.2	2
Charles	268	2,189	7.4%	15.6	3
Warwick	249	2,104	7.1%	15.0	3
Dunois	237	2,005	6.8%	14.3	3
Robert	201	1,632	5.5%	11.7	1
The Archbishop	178	1,516	5.1%	10.8	3
The Chaplain	170	1,441	4.9%	10.3	2
Ladvenu	146	1,263	4.3%	9.0	2
La Hire	63	520	1.8%	3.7	2
The Soldier	58	510	1.7%	3.6	1
D’estivet	51	437	1.5%	3.1	1
Poulengey	53	437	1.5%	3.1	1
The Nobleman	49	434	1.5%	3.1	1
La Trémouille	53	398	1.3%	2.8	1
Steward	53	388	1.3%	2.8	1
The Gentleman	40	341	1.1%	2.4	1
Bluebeard	42	331	1.1%	2.4	2
De Stogumber	36	325	1.1%	2.3	1
Courcelles	37	283	1%	2.0	1
The Page	37	233	0.8%	1.7	4
The Executioner	24	203	0.7%	1.5	2
The Assessors	14	121	0.4%	0.9	1
The Newcomer	10	95	0.3%	0.7	1
Joan’s Voice	4	25	0.1%	0.2	3
The Duchess	2	11	0%	0.1	1
A Girl’s Voice	1	4	0%	0.0	1
A Sentry’s Voice Westward	1	4	0%	0.0	1
The Dauphin	1	3	0%	0.0	1
The Voice	1	3	0%	0.0	1
All the Knights	1	2	0%	0.0	1
All the Others	1	1	0%	0.0	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	1	2	3	4	5	6	Epi
Joan
Cauchon
The Inquisitor
Charles
Warwick
Dunois
Robert
The Archbishop
The Chaplain
Ladvenu

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
The Inquisitor: “Brother Martin: if you had seen what I have se…”	Scene 6	914	92
Cauchon: “Who has turned it? The devil. And for a mighty…”	Scene 4	423	43
Joan: “Ah! if, if, if, if! If ifs and ans were pots a…”	Scene 5	309	31
Joan: “Where would you all have been now if I had hee…”	Scene 5	301	31
Joan: “Yes: they told me you were fools , and that I …”	Scene 6	282	29
Ladvenu: ““I, Joan, commonly called The Maid, a miserabl…”	Scene 6	239	24
Cauchon: “You mistake me, my lord. I have no sympathy wi…”	Scene 4	219	22
Cauchon: “You have spoken for me, and spoken better than…”	Scene 6	201	21
Robert: “It’s about this girl you are interested in. No…”	Scene 1	188	19
The Inquisitor: “I submit to you, with great respect, that if w…”	Scene 6	180	18

Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

The Chaplain and La Hire
The Chaplain and The Soldier
The Chaplain and Poulengey
The Chaplain and La Trémouille
The Chaplain and Steward
The Chaplain and The Gentleman
The Chaplain and Bluebeard
The Chaplain and De Stogumber
The Chaplain and The Newcomer
The Chaplain and Joan’s Voice
The Chaplain and The Duchess
The Chaplain and A Girl’s Voice

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Saint Joan?

Joan, with about 761 lines and 6,487 words, 21.9% of everything spoken in the play. Cauchon is next, with about 406 lines (11.9%).

How long is Saint Joan?

The full text has 29,687 spoken words, about 212 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

How many speaking roles are in Saint Joan?

33 named roles speak in this edition, across 7 scenes. 23 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.