Review: The Rape of Lucrece, Swan Theatre, Stratford
What an extraordinary, mesmerising show this is. Shakespeare's tragic poem is brought to life in prose, verse and song by the French-Irish singer Camille O'Sullivan.
It lasts for 80 minutes without an interval and the Swan was struck dumb, not a cough or programme-rustle intruding into the action.
In a remarkable performance, O'Sullivan enters the soul of both rapist and victim, raging and self-justifying as Tarquin, terrified, shattered and self-destroying as Lucrece.
O'Sullivan is alone on the stage apart from pianist Fergal Murray who plays music written by the pair. During the rape scene Murray ignores the ivories and reaches into the bowels of the piano, plucking the strings by hand to a powerful and effective crescendo.
There are moments when the piano obscures the words, and O'Sullivan's diction is not always crystal-sharp. But her sheer commitment and emotion are overwhelming.
This is a timely production, coming so soon after the world conference on rape in war. It is set in ancient Rome, a culture which regarded a raped woman not as a victim but as damaged goods. Two thousand years on, in some cultures and war zones, the same attitudes still apply.
The Rape of Lucrece is at the Swan until July 4.
By Peter Rhodes
