Morgan Lloyd Malcolm - Emilia

First published in 2018 by Oberon Books Ltd

521 Caledonian Road, London N7 9RH

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7607 3637 / Fax: +44 (0) 20 7607 3629

e-mail:

www.oberonbooks.com

Copyright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, 2018

Reprinted with revisions in 2019.

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm is hereby identified as author of this play in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The author has asserted her moral rights.

All rights whatsoever in this play are strictly reserved and application for performance etc. should be made before commencement of rehearsal to David Higham Associates, 6th Floor, Waverley House, 712 Noel Street, London W1F 8GQ (). No performance may be given unless a licence has been obtained, and no alterations may be made in the title or the text of the play without the authors prior written consent.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or binding or by any means (print, electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

PB ISBN: 9781786824813

E ISBN: 9781786824820

Cover image: Dewynters

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY. eBook conversion by Lapiz Digital Services, India.

Visit www.oberonbooks.com to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that youre always first to hear about our new releases.

Printed on FSC accredited paper

I want to say thank you to Michelle Terry for giving me this opportunity. Without her passion and faith this project would never have begun. I want to say thank you to Nicole Charles for being my co-conspirator and dreamer. I feel so lucky to have made this with you. I want to say thank you for Kate, Eleanor, Eileen and Nica and your brilliant teams who saw what we made at the Globe and brought it to the beautiful Vaudeville Theatre. Thank you for believing in us. I want to say thank you to all the incredible women in the cast and crew and creative team. You have grabbed this opportunity with both hands and put so much of your hearts and beautiful souls into this piece and it shows. I have loved every moment of working with you. To the original cast and crew and everyone at the Globe, I will always be indebted to the work you put in and the love you gave. I feel like we began a family which will only grow and grow. Thank you to Georgina and Hannah at David Higham Associates, to everyone at Oberon, to my friends and my family. I also want to say thank you to the huge community both online and off who have supported and championed this play and everything were trying to do; your enthusiasm helped get us to the west end! And finally thank you to Emilia Bassano whose words sit within all of us now. We all think youre amazing and we hope you like what we have made.

This play was written to be performed by an all female cast of diverse women. It would not be the same play if this is ignored. If being performed in a school where it is impossible to adhere to this then please cast against the usual type. Be bold.

This play was also written to challenge the notion that a play about a person needs to be a vehicle for one actress. This is very much an ensemble piece hence the three Emilias. It takes place in several time zones at one time. It isnt an accurate representation of Renaissance England, it isnt a historical representation. It is a memory, a dream, a feeling of her.

CHARACTERS (grouped in the doubling made in the original production. However if you have a larger group of actresses do share these parts out more. Or if you see better doubling due to specific skills of your actresses do mix them up. This is just a guide.)

This production had new music composed by Luisa Gerstein and the vibe and style is intrinsic to the piece.

EMILIA1

EMILIA2

EMILIA3

The three Emilias represent the three ages of her.

MARGARET JOHNSON / MARY SIDNEY / HESTER

SUSAN BERTIE THE COUNTESS OF KENT / MARY / BOB

LADY HELENA / LORD HOWARD / EVE

LADY CORDELIA / FLORA

LADY KATHERINE / DESDEMONA (Othello)

LORD THOMAS HOWARD / JUDITH / PRIEST

LORD COLLINS / LADY ANNE / DAVE

LORD ALPHONSO LANIER / EMILIA (Othello)

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE / MAN 2

LADY MARGARET CLIFFORD / MIDWIFE / MAN 1

THE MUSES

Everyone except EMILIA3 is a Muse. They play every other character in the play. The muses are the embodiment of Emilias will. It is up to you how you show this.

Emilia was first performed at the Globe Theatre on 10 August 2018. The cast was as follows:

Creatives