She Had Immortal Longings

Australian Shakespeare Festival
(A collaboration between Michael Campbell, Helen Noonan, Alison Bauld and William Shakespeare)
Peacock Theatre
August 19 & 21, 2010
By Anica Boulanger-Mashberg

This is an ambitious and challenging work for both performers and audience. It combines dense text (largely, but not exclusively, Shakespearean), a sparse contemporary operatic score, and a relentless live video projection of the action on stage. It also demands an intense engagement with the most emotionally and dramatically extreme points in the lives of five Shakespearean women – moments usually embedded in the full length of a production. It’s a lot to ask in an hour.