This is the story of famous lovers Abelard and Heloise, and the tragedy of their relationship. Abelard was an intelligent but provocative philosopher, whose religious views caused contention within the church. When he falls in love with his student Heloise, the niece of Canon Fulbert, their relationship causes further scandal, and steps are taken not only to keep them apart, but to take revenge on Abelard.
I thought this was a fabulous production, by the English Touring Theatre (and which was originally performed at Shakespeare’s Globe). As well as telling the love story of Abelard and Heloise, it also provided debate about the Bible, and religious and philosophical beliefs at the time, putting Abelard (played by the appropriately charismatic David Sturzaker) squarely at odds with the Monk Bernard of Clairvaux (a superb Sam Crane). The play required the audience’s concentration and full attention, but we were extremely well rewarded for it! Jo Herbert also was great as Heloise, capturing her independent spirit and fierce intelligence.
The rest of the cast included Edward Peel as Fulbret (Heloise’s uncle), Rhiannon Oliver as Denise (Abelard’s sister), Julius D’Silva (King Louis VI), John Cummins and William Mannering as Alberic and Lotholf respectively (who provided much of the comic relief of the show). They were – as well as the rest of the cast – excellent, without a single weak link.
There are emotions aplenty in this production – shock, grief, and surprisingly lots of humour. The simple but effective scary stage set perfectly set the scene for the unfolding drama, and there was some lovely music provided by William Lyons, Rebecca Austen-Brown and Arngeir Hauksson, who remained on stage, sitting above the action throughout.
With a superb cast, and an utterly compelling story, this is a production that deserves to be seen. Eternal Love is currently on tour in the UK, and if you get the chance to see it, I highly recommend it.
(For more information about this production, please click here.)
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