Men, who forgetting they were borne of women, nourished of women, and that if it were not by the means of women, they would be quite extinguished out of the world: and a finall end of them all, doe like Vipers deface the wombes wherein they were bred...
Emilia is not only a wonderful tribute to Emilia Bassano, but it is also a beautiful love letter to womankind. It preaches of their power, strength, beauty, intelligence and resilience, despite everything that is thrown their way. So often we are told that a female character is intelligent and strong, but very rarely do we see it. In Emilia, we do. It leaves the audience feeling moved, in awe, empowered, and, frankly, angry. We couldn't have loved it more. So much so, we ran down to the foyer to snap up a playscript during the interval.
Beginning in the present day, the eldest Emilia reads a contemporary description of herself. It's not particularly favourable. It refers to her only in the context of who she was to powerful men, who she was favoured and loved by. Emilia kisses her teeth and gives dry looks out into the audience, her entire life compressed and reduced to a few short, bitter lines because she refused to "halek" with the author. Because that was deemed her worth, she was currency, for the attention and enjoyment of men. Her writing is not mentioned at all.
The torch is cleverly passed from Emilia to Emilia over the course of the play, just after a particularly life-changing event has occurred. The first moment is when Emilia's baby, Odilya, dies. Emilia1 is joined by her older selves, Emilia2 and Emilia3. Her eldest self comforts her. 'You've done so well,' she tells her. And then the switch happens. They swap places, and Emilia2 takes the torch and is left alone in her grief. It's beautiful and so, so powerful.
Emilia's closing monologue is raging, glorious, pure fire. She marvels at how little men know of women, and indeed how little they know of herself, the true Emilia. She encourages the audience to fight back, to demand equality for all, and to burn the f*cking house down.
Clever woman...
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| Saffron Coomber, Clare Perkins and Adelle Leonce The Three Emilias |
There's a trend in society at the moment in which the lives of forgotten women lost to history are told, often for the very first time. In Six the Musical, the wives of Henry VIII are finally given the agency denied to them 500 years ago and take back control of their own stories... In Hamilton, Eliza puts herself back in the narrative of history, commiting to spend the rest of her life honouring her husband's legacy...
Emilia tells the story of Emilia Bassano (or Lanier), a woman thought to be Shakespeare's lover and muse, and the inspiration behind the 'Dark Lady' of his sonnets. Last week we were lucky enough to see the play together at the Vaudeville Theatre.
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| Saffron Coomber and Charity Wakefield playing Emilia and Will Shakespeare |
Emilia tells the story of Emilia Bassano (or Lanier), a woman thought to be Shakespeare's lover and muse, and the inspiration behind the 'Dark Lady' of his sonnets. Last week we were lucky enough to see the play together at the Vaudeville Theatre.
The main role of Emilia is played by three actresses, each playing Emilia at different stages in her life. The play is roughly divided into three parts; one part for each actress to have their moment as Emilia in that moment, while the other two watch and observe and occasionally contribute. The three Emilias are present all at once. They're not completely irrespective of time, rather that they are time. They are "a memory, a dream, a feeling of her."
In a purposeful contrast to contemporary performance of Shakespeare's own work, Emilia sees all characters, regardless of gender, portrayed by an all female cast. Allowing for the story to be told solely by women adds a certain nuance to the performance. The scriptbook comments on this decision, stating that the play "was written to be performed by an all female cast of diverse women. It would not be the same play if this is ignored." It's not colour blind casting, but rather a conscious, deliberate decision. We love that. It felt powerful and truly special.
The play itself was written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, and it really is such an honour to see a play geared towards women grace the West End. Seeing such an incredible celebration of women is definitely something we can get behind.
The main set is beautiful in its simplicity, modelled on the Globe Theatre, where Emilia was first performed, allowing the audience to imagine the settings in their own minds. All four dress circle boxes are used at various points during the the performance, clearly turning the entire theatre into a play within a play. The actors make use of all available space, which makes for a lot of excitement when dirty laundry and pamphlets and thrown and scattered overhead. If you're lucky, Emilia herself will join you in your box to watch part of the play.In a purposeful contrast to contemporary performance of Shakespeare's own work, Emilia sees all characters, regardless of gender, portrayed by an all female cast. Allowing for the story to be told solely by women adds a certain nuance to the performance. The scriptbook comments on this decision, stating that the play "was written to be performed by an all female cast of diverse women. It would not be the same play if this is ignored." It's not colour blind casting, but rather a conscious, deliberate decision. We love that. It felt powerful and truly special.
The play itself was written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, and it really is such an honour to see a play geared towards women grace the West End. Seeing such an incredible celebration of women is definitely something we can get behind.
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| Vaudeville Set |
Emilia is not only a wonderful tribute to Emilia Bassano, but it is also a beautiful love letter to womankind. It preaches of their power, strength, beauty, intelligence and resilience, despite everything that is thrown their way. So often we are told that a female character is intelligent and strong, but very rarely do we see it. In Emilia, we do. It leaves the audience feeling moved, in awe, empowered, and, frankly, angry. We couldn't have loved it more. So much so, we ran down to the foyer to snap up a playscript during the interval.
Beginning in the present day, the eldest Emilia reads a contemporary description of herself. It's not particularly favourable. It refers to her only in the context of who she was to powerful men, who she was favoured and loved by. Emilia kisses her teeth and gives dry looks out into the audience, her entire life compressed and reduced to a few short, bitter lines because she refused to "halek" with the author. Because that was deemed her worth, she was currency, for the attention and enjoyment of men. Her writing is not mentioned at all.
 |
| Passing on the torch... Clare Perkins, Saffron Coomber and Adelle Leonce |
The torch is cleverly passed from Emilia to Emilia over the course of the play, just after a particularly life-changing event has occurred. The first moment is when Emilia's baby, Odilya, dies. Emilia1 is joined by her older selves, Emilia2 and Emilia3. Her eldest self comforts her. 'You've done so well,' she tells her. And then the switch happens. They swap places, and Emilia2 takes the torch and is left alone in her grief. It's beautiful and so, so powerful.
Emilia's closing monologue is raging, glorious, pure fire. She marvels at how little men know of women, and indeed how little they know of herself, the true Emilia. She encourages the audience to fight back, to demand equality for all, and to burn the f*cking house down.
Clever woman...
Unfortunately, Emilia closes this Saturday (June 1st). However, copies of the play script can be found online here.
Sounds like a theatre production that was very powerful and unfortunately it is going to finish soon
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