Kerry O'Sullivan plays the part of Queen Eleanor, the wife of King Henry II of England.
Kerry O'Sullivan plays the part of Queen Eleanor, the wife of King Henry II of England.
Eleanor was raised to rule the huge Duchy of Aquitaine in southwest France, which was quite extraordinary given the times. Twelfth-century Europe wasn’t noted for liberal attitudes towards women, yet her father, in the absence of a male heir, educated her to rule the province she would inherit upon hisdeath.
I chatted with Kerry O’Sullivan, who plays the part of Eleanor in Repertory Theatre’s upcoming production The Lion in Winter. She’s enthusiastic about the part.
“Eleanor was quite a woman!” said Kerry. “Dressed as an Amazon, she rode bare-breasted to Damascus with the crusaders.” That was when she was married to her first husband, King Louis VII of France. When Eleanor met King Henry II of England, it was love at first sight, but it was some time before they were able to marry.
“There was a lot of love and respect between Eleanor and Henry, even at the time the play’s set, 1183. After Henry had imprisoned her for her part in supporting their oldest son’s rebellion against his father, the love and respect was still there. They really enjoyed baiting each other, too,” Kerry said.
Kerry O’Sullivan has been acting all her life. Her mother, the well-respected director of many Repertory Theatre productions, directed Kerry in her first play.
“I was just a little girl, about seven years old, I think, and I just fell in love with theatre,” she reminisced.
“I haven’t been acting for a while, so playing this part is a joy and a challenge. It’s certainly something to get my teeth into - a really challenging role, which I’m enjoying.”
I’m sure we’ll all enjoy watching Kerry play the part of Queen Eleanor - Queen of France from 1137-1152, Queen of England from 1154-1189 and the Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137-1204.
The Lion in Winter will be performed at the Whanganui Repertory Theatre on July 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28 and 29 at 7pm, and there will be a matinee Sunday performance on July 23 at 2pm.
