Queens of Rome is
set in ancient Rome
during the siege of the city by the Sabine warriors. It depicts the legend
of Tarpeia, a vestal virgin who becomes obsessed
with the gold bands worn by the Sabine warriors and ultimately offers to open
the gates of Rome to
get these bands. In this play, Tarpeia has a
friend named Amelia, and while they live in ancient Rome,
they are depicted as modern valley girl
type teenagers. Amelia's motivations are mostly sex and
shopping, while Tarpeia's motivations are mostly
jewellery and shopping. This anachronistic approach works
pretty well, especially early on, generating some funny scenes. I liked
the characters in this play and felt the actors did a good job of portraying
them. Theresa Fawcett is delightful as the brazen and
shallow Amelia, wearing her promiscuity proudly and speaking with over
the top sexual frankness. Libby Lea is also quite good as Tarpiea, and while she hides her sexuality under
pretensions of spirituality, she’s not that not much different from
Amelia.
The comedy in this play generally works
pretty well, and there are quite a few funny scenes in the early going.
Somewhere toward the middle of the play, however, it seems to lose momentum
as it concerns itself more with Tarpeia's intrigue
with the Sabines. This portion of the
play lacks dramatic punch and could have used better
pacing. Overall this show is not bad, but there is considerable
room for improvement.
