Pursuing her passion for science despite society, falling in love with the famous Voltaire, straying from the norm. ÉMILIE is the premiere of a high-energy comedy-drama with original music and larger-than-life characters.
Paris, summer 1733. Émilie’s work has stalled and she can’t face another social event in the gossip-fuelled capital. Little does she know she is about to fall in love with a famous poet. Little does he know, he is about to meet his intellectual match – an extraordinary woman, a scientist, who will change his life forever.
With high-energy, comedic performances and an original soundtrack performed live, we invite you to step into 18th-century France, where everyone has (and should know) their place…
“Judge me for my own merits, or lack of them, but do not look upon me as a mere appendage to [my husband] or that famed author [Voltaire]. I am in my own right a whole person." – Émilie du Châtelet.
Ten years after her death, Émilie’s translation of Newton’s Principia from Latin into French was published. While it is still the main translation used today, she is either forgotten or recognised as 'the mistress’ of Voltaire, one of France’s most revered philosophers and writers.
It’s time to tell Émilie’s story.
Presented by:
Sophie Lindsay
Supported by:
Embassy of France in Wellington
Creative team:
Sophie Lindsay: Writer, Director and Composer
Peau Halapua: Music Director
Nati Pereira: Set, Costume and Props Designer
D. Andrew Potvin: Producer and Lighting Designer
Sam Mence (CASTL): Technical Systems and Operation
Gustavo Garcia: Graphic Designer
Performers:
Beth Alexander: Émilie du Châtelet
Justin Rogers: Voltaire
Bronwyn Ensor: Marie, Lady 1
Clementine Mills: Isabelle, Lady 2
Peau Halapua: Violinist
Sarah Spence: Cellist
Image credit: Billy Wong
