A brand-new ancient-history play in verse that tells the story of one of Britain’s most iconic women: a queen, a warrior and a rebel.
‘I’d rather walk in blood than walk a slave
For he your Emperor!’
AD 61, Britannia. On the furthest outreaches of the Roman Empire – at the very edge of the known world – rebellion is brewing.
The King of the Iceni has died and his widow, Boudica, has tried to claim her rightful throne. For her insolence in defying Rome, the queen has been flogged, her daughters have been raped, and they have been banished from their homeland. But now, Queen Boudica has returned. And this time she has an army.
She will have revenge. She will have blood. She will make Rome quake in fear.
Boudica by Tristan Bernays premiered at Shakespeare’s Globe, London, in September 2017.
‘An epic, blood-soaked spectacle… Bernays’ writing is beautifully clear and disciplined… a thrilling, challenging and thoroughly disturbing examination of one of Britain’s bloodiest – and feistiest – patriots’
— WhatsOnStage
‘Fast, foul and funny… Tristan Bernays writes with hints of the classics, yet it retains a sense of the modern. Bernays’ words trip off the tongue, occasionally drifting into the poetic, and at other times into the coarse. Not only that but it’s incredibly funny, with elements of Monty Python-esque humour running through’
— Broadway World
‘Audacious, inventive and vivid… a show for fans of Game of Thrones… refreshingly, Bernays has written a play in which women get to do the exciting stuff’
— Evening Standard
‘A huge amount of fun… a pacy, fun watch that’ll thrill Game of Thrones fans’
— Time Out
‘Holds the stage with confidence… Bernays drives the story forward with great skill’
— Guardian
‘Tristan Bernays’s new play offers a crackingly good central female role, which puts the first-century British queen right at the centre of the narrative… accomplished writing’
— The Arts Desk
‘A bloody, bawdy reimagining of the story of Boudica… Tristan Bernays’s zesty play puts new flesh on the facts, but his main focus is firmly on Boudica’s experience as a powerful woman in a man’s world and the competing demands on her as a mother and a ruler… has a sprightly, muscular pace’
— Telegraph
