From April 30 to May 3, the Melbourne French Theatre hosts “Napoléon, From Roses to Poison”, a look back at the last period in the life of one of the world’s best-known emperors, then in exile on the island of St. Helena. The show is aimed at French speakers and Francophiles alike, with English subtitles.
The event was announced during the Semaine de la langue française et de la Francophonie by the Consul General of France in Melbourne, Paule Ignatio. Six performances of the play “Napoléon, From Roses to Poison” will be held in Carlton, at the Melbourne French Theatre. The play, imagined by Marijke Eysbertse-van Schaik, directed by Donald McManus, and produced by Michael Bula, dramatizes the last period of Napoleon’s life in exile in St. Helena and the unsuspected link this historical period has with Australia.
After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the French emperor Napoleon I was exiled to St. Helena, an island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. William Balcombe, superintendent of the island’s East India Company, accepted the emperor’s request for a temporary stay at his home, The Briars. The eldest daughter, Jane, soon began giving Napoleon English lessons. After initial reluctance, her younger sister Betsy, refreshingly uninhibited, falls under the spell of the suave imperial visitor and his French entourage. Things take a turn for the worse with the arrival on St. Helena of Sir Hudson Lowe, the new governor. The emperor was ordered to leave immediately for Longwood, where he would be guarded 24 hours a day by 3,000 British soldiers. What goes on there – suspicious deaths, escape plans, dangerous liaisons – remains a mystery to this day…
The play will be in French, but English subtitles will also be provided for greater accessibility.
Four performances will take place in the evening – from April 30 to May 3 – at 8 pm, and two – on May 2 and 3 – in the afternoon, at 2:30 pm.
The show will take place at “La Maison du Maître”, at 203-205 Canning Street in Carlton (entrance by the grey metal door furthest west from Neill Street).
Information and booking: https://melbournefrenchtheatre.org.au/current-show-from-roses-to-poison/?utm_source=NEWSPAPERS+%2B+e-bulletins&utm_campaign=b2e6f85d59-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_03_04_10_20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-b2e6f85d59-73359093
Discussion about this post