Two hundred and ninety-four years before Helen Reddy roared "I Am Woman," the pioneering English playwright Aphra Behn set a standard for women's liberation, empowerment and equality.
Her 1677 play, "The Rover," presents strong-willed, independent female characters who get their way even more than some of the feisty women in Shakespeare (who died 24 years before Behn was born), said Stephanie Burrough, who's directing the dark comedy for Prenzie Players.
"The first time I read it in college, I was blown away by how authentic the female characters felt," the 30-year-old Kalamazoo Michigan College grad said this week. "Women are given the freedom of speech they're not usually given, say things women don't normally say. At the time, a woman's sexual power was constantly being under control of the men.It was the first time I ever read a play like that."
"The characters express the depth of women's emotions and the truth that they have this freedom, even if it isn't recognized in the roles they are required to play," Ms. Burrough said. As true today as in the 17th century, women still own their independence, and "nobody can take that away from them," she said.
People are also reading…
"The Rover" -- named for the rakish naval captain Willmore (played by Jeremy Mahr), at the center of a love triangle --mixes 17th-century sexual politics, comic buffoonery and romantic intrigue in Naples at Carnivale, according to Prenzie. The play exposes the era's "hypocrisy and double standard," as men have all the rights, power, and sexual freedom, and women are relegated to the roles of virginal wife, nun, or whore, Ms. Burrough said.
"She does it in a witty way, that's clearly satirical, doing it in way that's making people laugh at the same time, instead of doing it with judgment," she said of Behn, who once worked an undercover agent for the British government. "She's kind of a brilliant woman. It was really abnormal for her to be a playwright at all. She was very popular."
"Women are the ones who really rule this play, save themselves. They rescue each other," Ms. Burrough said. "They're in control, not dependent on men. I knew when I read this play, I never read a thing like this before in my life."
Hellena (Diane Emmert), who is headed to a convent, disguises herself as a man to win Willmore for herself, by convincing the courtesan Angellica (Maggie Woolley) that he's a no-good cheater. "She fools the woman he's trying to woo," Ms. Burrough said, noting Shakespeare also used instances of women dressing as men (including Viola in "Twelfth Night") to earn favors.
Hellena's sister Florinda (Kitty Israel) "goes through hell" to get her man, the director said. "She puts herself in danger. She's one of the bravest people in the play."
Ms. Burrough -- a frequent Prenzie actress who also directed "Much Ado About Nothing" in 2009 and "Twelfth Night" in 2005 -- most identifies with Hellena. "She is so witty, outgoing and fearless," she said. "She courts a man at least 10 years her senior; she wins his heart."
"The Rover" women talk with frank, contemporary clarity, Ms. Burrough said, adding of Hellena: "I've never heard a character speak like that before. I am a classical theater actress; she's speaking in my language, saying things I want women to be able to say without fear. She has a line, 'Do I not deserved to be loved? Am I not beautiful?'"
"This woman loves herself from the beginning; she goes out with confidence. How does it get any better than that?" she said. "Everybody deserves to be loved, to respect themselves."
Angellica learns a lot about herself during this process -- "that she doesn't need to have this man's love to validate her, and to be able to walk away from him," Ms. Burrough said. Also, the male characters learn lessons, "informed by how they treat the woman, how that changes their world," she said.
"The Rover" is the first of three Prenzie plays that explore the power and voices of women, all helmed by female directors. Later this season will be "Antigone," a Greek tragedy of one woman's stand against her government, and the world premiere of "Bear Girl," an original play by J.C. Luxton, set in the historical Quad-Cities, telling the story of the rise of Black Hawk through the eyes of Sauk women.
If you go
-- What: Prenzie Players' "The Rover."
-- When: 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Oct, 26-28, 2 p.m. Sunday. (Opening night will feature a question-and-answer session with the cast, director and crew following the show.)
-- Where: Former Johnson School gym, 1730 Wilkes Ave., Davenport.
-- Tickets: $10. Email tickets@prenzieplayers.com or call (309) 278-8426.
