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Emilia Bassano: From dark lady to shining star

The story of a groundbreaking Elizabethan poet is reclaimed and celebrated in this new stage production. But what’s Emilia’s connection with Shakespeare?

9 Nov 2022 9:47

Richard Watts

Three dark-skinned women stare at the camera. Each is similarly dressed in white.

Performing Arts

‘Emilia’ features three actors as Emilia Bassano at different stages of her life. L-R: Lisa Maza, Manali Datar and Cessalee Stovall. Photo: Pia Johnson.

‘It’s hard not to be inspired by a person, particularly a woman, who just didn’t take no for an answer,’ says actor/producer Amanda LaBonté.

The first British woman to call herself a professional poet, Emilia Bassano – the daughter of a Venetian-born musician at the court of Queen Elizabeth I – is believed by some to be the ‘Dark Lady’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

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Richard Watts

Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's former National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts