Colin Smith as Tarquin and Betsy Rosen as Lucrece in Washington Shakespeare Company's production of "Shakespeare's 'Rape of Lucrece,'" an earlier, one-act version of the play. Washington DC, February 2007.

Colin Smith as Tarquin and Betsy Rosen as Lucrece in Washington Shakespeare Company's production of "Shakespeare's 'Rape of Lucrece,'" an earlier, one-act version of the play. Washington DC, February 2007.

Lucrece and the Two Janes

Jane and Other Jane live in a nursing home for dying Roman gods. They bicker over their differing versions of an event that changed the course of history, the rape and suicide of Lucretia. They can only settle their disagreement by opening the archive and replaying once again what led up to the night when the birds were aflame and dying. Based on the narrative poem "The Rape of Lucrece" by William Shakespeare.

In development...

“Callie Kimball’s skill at matching the Bard’s couplets with her own is impressive, as is her facility for delineating ancient politics, but it’s her literary wit that sets Rape of Lucrece apart.”
— Washington City Paper, on the 2007 one-act version

Setting

Rome, 509 BCE

Characters

  • LUCRECE. Early 20s. Intelligent, open-hearted, passionate.
  • JANE. One face of Janus, God of Fate and Beginnings.
  • OTHER JANE. Other face of Janus, God of Doorways and Endings. Played by a male.
  • MAIA. Early 20s. Lucrece’s Maid. A pre-proto-Goth-junior-feminist. Has a girlcrush on Lucrece. Played by the actor playing Jane.
  • AUGUSTA. 19. Lucrece’s Maid. Immature in a sweet way. Adores Lucrece. Played by the actor playing Other Jane.
  • COLLATINUS. Mid-30s. Lucrece’s husband. A handsome, confident general who’s had a LOT of battle successes. Loves Lucrece, though he’d readily list her as property on any inventory of his estate.
  • LUCRETIUS. 50-ish but not old. Lucrece’s papa. A distinguished statesman who is a self-important yammerer.
  • BRUTUS. Mid-30s. Another general and Collatinus’ friend. Smart, cool, detached, almost chillingly so. A mix of idealism and pragmatism. A politician in the best sense. An ancestor of Brutus that killed Caesar.
  • PRINCE TARQUIN. Around 30. Son of King Tarquin the Proud. Young, handsome, charming when it suits his ends but can be abrupt or dismissive. Is probably a serial date rapist and unaware he has a problem.

Production & Development History

Workshops at Lark Play Development Center, with Cait Robinson, and with Kate Powers. An earlier, one-act version of the play was produced under the title "Shakespeare's 'Rape of Lucrece'" by Washington Shakespeare Company.