As Emma Rice leaves The Globe Theatre in the spring of 2018 she leaves behind a legacy, a legacy that has changed The Globe indefinitely. Shared light or no shared light Rice has transformed a “museum theatre” and a tourist attraction into a venue that is now seen as relevant and approachable as it once again lures people of all backgrounds, ages and classes, by staging productions which are rooted in universal socio-political truths. The world premiere of Tristan Bernay’s BOUDICA is no different, as it puts a famous tribal heroine centre stage and aims to make a comment about the current political climate in Britain.Written in verse, Bernay’s BOUDICA uses mostly modern language to describe the story of the Celtic British warrior Boudica who upon her husband’s death is robbed of her land by the aggressive invaders of the Roman Empire. Beaten and humiliated, her daughters raped by brutal Romans, Boudica seeks revenge and is determined to claim back what’s rightfully hers. She might not be seen as The Queen but she is the warrior.
Gina McKee as the titular heroine possesses plenty of charisma and presence to carry the weight of this fascinating character, however Bernay’s writing does not do justice to the complexity of the character and at times paints her as quite one dimensional, not giving McKee enough platform to show her skills. Whilst overall the whole cast does justice to the famous story of Queen Boudica, it is Abraham Popola as the wild and blood thirsty tribal chief and Joan Iyiola, as one of Boudica’s daughters Alona that shine the most.
Eleanor Rhode directs the piece with a great understanding of space and transforms “the wooden O” into battlefields and courtrooms with a clever use of the great timber design by Tom Piper. Blood and violence are very present in Rhode’s production and she doesn’t shy away from radical directorial decisions as London Calling by The Clash is sang at the beginning of act two; no doubt a treat for those who crave a more challenging and innovative approach to reimagining classical folk tales.
As someone who wholeheartedly supports putting female stories centre stage and showing women as complex and multidimensional characters, I’m quite torn when it comes to my judgement on BOUDICA. It seems like Bernay’s lengthy dialogues and almost caricature like characters took away from what could be a fascinating and really political piece , in order to make space for a somewhat less violent version of Game of Thrones.
There is frequently added examination of the first production by a new Artistic Director of a venue, in search of an indication of what is to come. This is the dubious honour currently bestowed upon Tom Littler as he opens his first season as Artistic Director of the Jermyn Street Theatre. If The Blinding Light, a new play by Howard Brenton, is a statement of intent then Jermyn Street looks to be at the forefront of London fringe theatre for the foreseeable future thanks to a combination of interesting writing and compelling performances.