Rockstars and historical figures collide in an invigorating retelling of the prose and poetry of one of William Shakespeare’s plays. Rockspeare Henry VI Part I comes to the Mill Theatre at Dairy Road on 11 October–4 November to share the words of Shakespeare like never before.

“We’ve created our rock, sort of grunge, steampunk universe that matches Shakespeare’s massive words,” says Stefanie Lekkas, who plays Talbot and Margaret.

Set at the cusp of the War of the Roses after the death of Henry V, his son Henry VI is crowned King of England. While the young ruler might be seated on the throne, his uncles hold the power as tensions rise; across the Channel, war continues in France as Joan of Arc leads the French army.

“She’s a witch, she’s a strumpet but then she is also the patron saint,” says Alana Denham-Preston, who plays Joan of Arc.

The play covers the factional powers across England and the long and bloody history of the 15th century as the English political system is torn apart.

“It’s looking very much at the word battles of the politicians of the time, the duchesses or lords that can’t get themselves together … We see through the play how a lack of cohesion between the English leads to quite a few problems for them,” says Ms Lekkas.

Accompanied by an entirely original soundscape created by Canberra composer Andre Pinzon, the production, though not a musical, highlights the music that inherently resides within Shakespeare’s poetry. Stepping away from the classic retellings, Rockspeare captures the essence of a sellout rock show with the costumes and set closer to a 1980s hair metal experience than a historical play.

“It comes from this idea that rockstars have a massive amount of status and that status that we put in that world and the sexiness of that world … it’s bringing the largeness of those ideas, the powerplay, the status, and creating this universe that matches Shakespeare’s epic verse,” Ms Lekkas says.

The original score is used to enhance what is occurring in the play, adding drama and tension to certain scenes and sometimes letting the audience know who is the focus of the scene.

“There’s a scene where Talbot is introduced back into England after a bit of a bit of a setback and that involves the first time you hear the essentially Talbot theme tune. The way that is interspersed with all of the other music and composition just really builds the world and gives it this depth,” says Ms Lekkas.

Both women wanted to be part of the Mill Theatre production as they had been involved with the company before and appreciated the supportive culture, the learning opportunities, and the quality of work.   

In this play, the whole cast is female or non-binary; they say the biggest change made in the script was ensuring the pronouns matched the performers. Even though most characters were written to be men, both women agree that the story still makes sense no matter the gender.

“If we go back to the tradition of theatre, back to the ancient Greeks, back to Shakespearean times, women didn’t act anyway; it was all men playing all of the characters and nobody seems to have a problem with that,” says Ms Lekkas.

“I think it’s really cool that we can show in the 21st century, that if a character has depth and a character has more than just gender going for them, they will stand the test of time and they can be portrayed by anyone.”

Inviting lovers of Shakespeare and those who aren’t familiar with his works to experience the production, the actors say audience members might walk away with a different idea than when they arrived.

“If you look at the fights and the hissy fits that occur in the show … you’re possibly also seeing what’s happened in Australian politics in the last few years. This play was written hundreds of years ago, it involves language that we don’t necessarily use in this day and age, but the core drivers of the issues … have not really changed in that time. We still have people in power wanting more power, we still have people in power fighting their own side,” says Ms Lekkas.

“These characters are historical figures. We have Joan of Arc, whose reception is very much mixed. For the French, she’s a symbol of perhaps French identity, and resistance almost. But we all have our own perception of her, perception of Talbot, of Henry VI. It is kind of challenging what we may have read about and seeing those characters being embodied on stage and then making a judgement or assessment on these figures of history,” adds Ms Denham-Preston.

Catch Rockspeare Henry VI Part I at the Mill Theatre at Dairy Road, Fyshwick. Previews 11-14 October; Season 18 October – 4 November; milltheatreatdairyroad.com

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