Birnam Arts stages Shakespeare’s The Rape of Lucrece

Apr 23 2010 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

SANDWICHED between the anniversaries of William Shakespeare’s death (394 years ago today) and his baptism (April 26, 1594 (his actual birth date is unknown) is a performance in the Birnam Arts Centre tomorrow evening of his narrative poem The Rape of Lucrece.

Published in 1594, The Rape of Lucrece tells of the rape in 509BC by Sextus Tarquinius, son of Tarquin, the king of Rome, of Lucretia (Lucrece), wife of Collatinus, one of the king's aristocratic retainers. As a result, Lucrece committed suicide. Her body was paraded in the Roman Forum by the king's nephew. This incited a full-scale revolt against the Tarquins led by Lucius Junius Brutus, the banishment of the royal family, and the founding of the Roman republic.

Shakespeare’s brilliant works goes beyond giving an account of the terrible crime, and its dreadful consequences for the victim and perpetrator, by shining a light on a band of human behaviour encompassing the bestial and the beautiful.

The stage adaptation being staged in Birnam at 8pm tomorrow is directed by Gareth Armstrong, who has created many successful solo shows including his own award-winning ‘Shylock’, and is performed by Olivier Award nominated Gerard Logan who has played leading roles with the National Theatre and the RSC.

This production was an outstanding success at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2008.

Tickets for the Birnam Arts performance are £10 (£8 concessions) from the box office 01350 727 674 or online www.birnamarts.com