Sydney Reviews

For those such as myself who are ardent lovers of Shakespeare’s writing but experience it almost solely through watching his plays, there is a vast untapped world of the Bard’s poems. There is some irony to this, since in his own lifetime poetry held greater prestige than the populist commercialism of the theatre.

Perhaps it still does, perhaps nothing has really changed, but for many in a world where popular culture has become dominant, poetry can seem a distant artform, one considered either elite, archaic, twee or pretentious, useful to pull quotes from at the head of articles or the forewords of books, but not something many sit down to read at length.

So in a way you can’t help but wonder if staging one of Shakespeare’s great works of poetry, dramatising it essentially, is likely to encourage people familiar only with his plays to look further into his poetic works, or simply reinforce their perception of his work as belonging to the theatre above all else. Perhaps it’s a futile question, the same as that old chestnut that ponders whether the endless screen adaptations of Dickens or Austen incite new readers to pick up the books afterwards, or merely make their viewers feel that reading such tomes would now be a redundant experience. The more positive spin I would put on such things is that at least one way or another the writer’s words are reaching an audience that may have never otherwise sought them out.

Speaking for myself, this is the second time I have seen a dramatisation of one of Shakespeare’s poetic works, and although the rather esoteric Melbourne production of Venus and Adonis I reviewed back in 2008 was certainly intriguing, it did not have nearly the impact of this Royal Shakespeare Company presentation of The Rape of Lucrece.

To describe this musical staging as a dramatisation of Shakespeare’s poem invites a bit of semanticism I’d rather avoid, but it certainly does not present the story as “play” or even a “musical”, unless perhaps by a rather liberal definition of either as a one-hander. The poem is presented by a single performer who partly recites but mostly sings the text, accompanied solely by a pianist, and does so in a performative, dramatic fashion. There is a set, and as the story transitions from the narrator to the perspectives of both rapist and victim there are some symbolic costume changes. She does not so much “play” the roles of Lucrece and Tarquin as though building naturalistic characterisations, but rather inhabits their inner states in a way that is even deeper to our understanding of them and, at times uncomfortably so, our empathy. A few lighting effects and other simple stagecraft are highly effective, but this is a pared back piece of theatre which rests firmly on the shoulders of its central interpreter.

Having pursued this review on the basis of being an uncommon rendition of Shakespeare’s work, it wasn’t until shortly before seeing it that I realised the show’s star was Camille O’Sullivan, an indelibly impressive singer I’d encountered the better part of a decade ago at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Although her repertoire of Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen and others of that ilk were not altogether to my taste (yes, heresy, no doubt…), I was captivated by her splendid voice and gutsy, dramatic performance style that transformed her renditions of these songs into gripping narrative microcosms, like tiny musical plays rather than songs merely being sung with appropriate verve.

With that experience in mind, and vaguely aware of a few small turns in film, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised to see what a fine actor O’Sullivan proved to be in The Rape of Lucrece, depicting the starkly opposing roles with equal conviction and sensitivity, and a fervent energy that grabs you by the throat. Although I found myself curious as to how her rich skill in conveying character and emotion might translate to regular dialogue in a more conventional play, the point is perhaps moot as it is hard to imagine a better dramatic portrayal of this heartbreaking narrative than what she presents us with here.

With something of a reputation for being a dark chanteuse of gritty material ranging from the heights of passion and rage to the lows of despair and bitterness, O’Sullivan’s approach here takes on an almost operatic quality yet sacrifices nothing of the intimacy of her cabaret roots. Having co-adapted this piece with her pianist Feargal Murray and RSC director Elizabeth Freestone, she fully immerses us in the truly distressing heart of this tale of brutality, anguish and pity, never allowing the lyricism of Shakespeare’s words or the beauty of her own voice distance us from the raw and terrible humanity of what is unfolding before us.

That said, there is an undeniable beauty to this production, yet it acts more as a counterpoint to the horrors of the tale, to bring us into a story which, one hopes, most people would not automatically gravitate towards as mere entertainment. O’Sullivan’s singing and the music she and Murray have composed is effective but unobtrusive, like a good film score, it helps guide emotion and break up the poetic flow into different “songs” with individuated moods and tempos. And in fact, for anyone who may have a tendency to glaze over a bit with poetry read aloud yet conversely be drawn in by the lyrics of popular songs, they may actually find this mode of presentation something of an aid to their reception of the Bard’s words. Indeed, the rhyme and metre of Shakespeare’s lines lend themselves very well indeed to being sung, and this team have done an excellent job of setting it to music.

Hypnotic, disturbing, and thrilling, this staging of The Rape of Lucrece as a kind of one-woman play with music that will hopefully engross anyone unfamiliar with narrative poetry who’s willing to give it a try. For the initiated or lapsed it will certainly be an intriguing new way of experiencing the form, and for anyone merely wishing to see a masterful dramatic singer performing at her peak, it comes highly recommended. For myself, it is a production that makes me want to belatedly read the poem as written, and then see this show again, enriching the experience all the more.


Royal Shakespeare Company presents
The Rape of Lucrece
by William Shakespeare

Director Elizabeth Freestone

SYDNEY
Venue: York Theatre | Seymour Centre, Chippendale
Dates: January 22 – 25, 2013
Tickets: $50 – $45
Bookings: Seymour Centre 02 9351 7940 | Sydney Festival 1300 668 812 | Ticketmaster 1300 723 038

also

MELBOURNE
Venue: Southbank Theatre, The Sumner | 140 Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Dates: January 31 to February 10 2013
Tickets: $85.00 Adult | $77.00 Conc | $33.00 Under 30
Bookings: mtc.com.au/lucrece | 8688 0800 | ticketmaster.com.au 1300 723 038