Lucius wanted to be turned into a bird, but the spell went awry. Photo / Getty Images
It'll be interesting to see what Michael Hurst plucks from Lucius' The Golden Ass to present to us at Repertory Theatre early next month.
He's staging his one-man show as part of the Arts on Tour programme and will be here on July 4.
The Golden Ass is a
picaresque novel of transformation and the foolishness of men. It reminds me a lot of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Written in the second century AD, it tells the story of Lucius, a man of insatiable appetites, who wants to be transformed into a bird. He persuades his lady love to do the deed after they've spied on a witch changing into a bird but — you guessed it — he is turned into a donkey instead.
Lucius the donkey has many adventures while he unsuccessfully searches for the rose he must eat to become a man again, sometimes being treated well and at others being beaten.
