THE RAPE OF LUCRECE

Transforming a Shakespearean narrative poem circa 1594 into an on-stage musical success is no easy feat.

The Rape of Lucrece, adapted and directed by Elizabeth Freestone for the Royal Shakespeare Company (UK), will shortly arrive on Australian stages for the first time during Sydney Festival. Executed beautifully by actress and performer Camille O’Sullivan and pianist and composer Feargal Murray, the long time collaborators and friends took Edinburgh International Festival by storm and plan to do the same here in Sydney. Their musical twist on a rarely performed poem, in which the King of Rome brings about the fall of the Roman empire with his wicked act of sexual assault, has O’Sullivan channelling both villain and victim.

O’Sullivan says she relishes in provocative storytelling and with regards to the Bard himself, she explains: “He understood, so much, the vulnerability of somebody. I love the fact he understood the strength or evilness of people, but then [also] a woman and her innocence, you know?” Proving it can remain poignantly relevant centuries after it was written, The Rape of Lucrece is not one to miss.

Jan 22-25, York Theatre, Seymour Centre, cnr City Rd & Cleveland St, Chippendale, $45-50, 1300 668 812, sydneyfestival.org.au