The Rover

The classic 1677 battle of the sexes, by the first professional woman playwright, Aphra Behn.

Lost in a maze of masquerade and revelry, a ratbaggy gang of exiled cavaliers plunge into the steamy depths of Naples at carnival time. They’re led by Willmore, a seventeenth-century playboy who’s been round the block a few times and survives by his wit and exuberance. But then he meets a young woman who has the guile to expose the Rover’s true self. He’s almost prepared to fall head over heels for her. But she’s a nun. And there’s the most beautiful woman in Europe on the same street…

“I want to do something wild and high-energy. And this is a sexy, dangerous play. Its honesty about the battle between men and women for power is striking given it is over three and a half centuries old. And also, what a treat to have Toby Schmitz back at Belvoir as the Rover himself.” – Eamon