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Emilia Bassano: From dark lady to shining star

The story of a groundbreaking Elizabethan poet is reclaimed and celebrated in this new stage production. But what’s Emilia’s connection with Shakespeare?

9 Nov 2022 9:47

Richard Watts

Three dark-skinned women stare at the camera. Each is similarly dressed in white.

Performing Arts

‘Emilia’ features three actors as Emilia Bassano at different stages of her life. L-R: Lisa Maza, Manali Datar and Cessalee Stovall. Photo: Pia Johnson.

‘It’s hard not to be inspired by a person, particularly a woman, who just didn’t take no for an answer,’ says actor/producer Amanda LaBonté.

The co-founder (with Sophie Lampel) of indie company Essential Theatre, LaBonté will soon appear in Essential’s production of Emilia, an award-winning play exploring the remarkable life of proto-feminist Elizabethan poet Emilia Bassano.

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Richard Watts

Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts