Bella Donna: A sexy new comedy by David Copelin

presented by Burning Passions Theatre & Some Strange Reason Theatreworks

Reviewed By: Tanya Scholes 

Where? The Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs, 26 Berkeley Street  

When? Show runs now until June 7th, 2008 

How do I get tix? 416.368.3110 or online at www.canstage.ca 

Cast/Crew Fun Facts:  David Copelin, Playwright and Co-Producer, was the winner of the 2005 New Play Award at the Toronto Fringe Festival. 

He says in his ‘Notes from the Playwright’: “Bella Donna won the Toronto Fringe Festival’s Best Play Award in 2005. We sold out all our performances and had to turn many would-be audience members away. Now, thanks to the producing wisdom of Laurel Smith and the directorial vision of Sue Miner, Bella is back in town, feistier than ever, and ready for three audiences – those who didn’t get to see it the first time around, those who did and want to see it again, and those who come to it for the first time, curious about this half-historical, half-invented comedy of Lucrezia Borgia (1480 – 1519), the most notorious woman of the Italian Renaissance. 

For me, reinvestigating this script with this company has been a treat. We’ve laughed a lot in rehearsal, talked through some worthwhile challenges, and put a lot of effortless-seeming effort into bringing Lucrezia’s edgy, complex story back to fervent life.” 

In a Nutshell:  Welcome to Renaissance Italy, in the early 1500s, where sex and politics, sex and religion and, did I say sex, go hand and…hand (to be polite).  

Pope Alexander VI has just died and left his daughter, the notorious Lucrezia Borgia, excommunicated by her father’s Papal successor. Tempted by her husband’s own philanderings with his titillating teenage ward, Countess Angela di Ghillini, Lucrezia exercises the lust of her own female loins with a young, accidental lover, Giovanni, she meets while both are in disguise for the new Pope’s celebratory costume ball. Unbeknownst to them both, the young soldier, Giovanni, had arduously planned to seek revenge against the scandalous Borgia family under the new Pope, Julius II’s rule – especially against the very woman whom he now unknowingly was carnally ‘entwined’ with. What ensues is a string of accidental repercussions that unveil long-buried secrets. With intrigue, irreverence and a whole lot of sinful sexiness humourously sprinkled throughout, the limits of passion, politics, religion and relationships are provocatively pushed leaving only the audience to decide what really went down in history. 

You’ll Like This Performance If You: Went to Catholic school and had the reputation of being a ‘Catholic school girl’ (you know what I mean!), got off on history class (not ‘in’ history class), enjoyed Sophia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette’, ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ or ‘Dangerous Beauty’. 

Indicative Quote: “Blessed am I among women, for I have had my child inside me twice…” 

Highlight:  Let’s just say that Lucrezia Borgia leaves even the most controversial affairs of Barbara Walters in her dust… 

Lowlight:  The $4.50 spent for a glass (I wasn’t aware wine came in shots?) of wine at the bar – this however, is not a reflection on the play itself – left to their own devices, the cast and crew would have likely included an all you can drink wine bar with admission. 

What Was The Audience Like: A fine mix of people – from dressed up to dressed down, from the polished academics to the lowbrow laymen – anything goes with this dark and witty comedy. 

Who You Should Bring - or better yet – Who Should You Think Twice About Bringing:  Your grandparents, unless they are super liberal, because let’s face it, despite the fact that this was set way before their time, chances are they lived more puritanically then in the times of Renaissance Italy. For the same reason, don’t bring your prudish or pious friends – it could either go very well or horribly wrong (better to air on the safe side).  

For More Fun, Bring:  Your lover, your lover, your lover (or someone you want to be your lover) – it could be the start of a fabulously sexy tryst. 

For more information on this fabulous production: www.burningpassionstheatre.com