14 March 2022
The Lower Sixth Production of Emilia, performed to a school audience on Thursday 10 March and publicly the following evening, was by turn powerful, poignant, fierce, funny, and always mesmerising.
The play was inspired by the life of poet Emilia Bassano (1569-1645), who some have speculated was the ‘Dark Lady’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Lase, Teni and Nicole superbly played the role of Emilia at different stages of her life, telling an emotional rollercoaster of a tale with equally wonderful, and frequently multi-roled, performances from the rest of the cast.
In her programme notes, director Mrs Emma Love explained, “This is not a polite play; it is a call to arms. The downtrodden, the under-represented and the overlooked need allies but more importantly, they need active advocates. To those of us with the privilege of power – in the words of Emilia – ‘Time to listen!’”
We listened with rapt attention and, afterwards, offered rapturous applause for everyone involved: cast, director, technical team and backstage support.
