A modern re-fashioning of the myths surrounding the infamous last queen of France – Marie Antoinette – who lived like a rock star against the backdrop of a blood-thirsty revolution. LadyCake is an electrifying and darkly witty piece that sees a flamboyant collision between 18th century France and the modern day, contends with the way speculation, gossip, assumption and physical criticism can cruelly undermine a woman. Creators and performers Candace Miles, Madelaine Nunn and Anna Rodway spoke with TAGG ahead of the season,
Candace Miles, Introduce us to LadyCake, what’s the show about?
LadyCake is a modern re-fashioning of the myths surrounding the infamous last queen of France – Marie Antoinette – who lived like a rock star against the backdrop of a blood-thirsty revolution.
If you scratch surface of this work, what might we find a little deeper down?
We are curious about the public life versus the private. Is what you hear about someone really the truth of who they are? How easy is it to tear a woman down from her throne?
We love using comedy and a heightened style to open up the story-telling; to take it into weird and wonderful places. If you scratch the surface of LadyCake, you’ll find three energetic and electric girls on stage, trying to unravel the complex dimensions of this woman.
Madelaine Nunn Marie Antoinette, quite a character to take on, but is the story of this famous character still relevant?
Exploring the life of Marie Antoinette is such an exciting challenge to us!
Marie Antoinette stands out as a figure who has been reduced to mythical proportions: was she a teen icon or a draconian villain, a loving mother or a heartless queen?
LadyCake uses Marie as a device to draw parallels with the way in which we put women on pedestals in a modern day context.
How do you relate to her personally, what do you think can be taken from her story?
Even though she lived a life that seems in retrospect to be a fictitious drama, similar to that of a Shakespearean tragedy, she was a real person. She was sent away to a foreign country, to marry a man she’d never met, with tremendous expectations placed on her shoulders and was watched by the entire world.
Despite popular culture’s understanding of her, Marie Antoinette was a vulnerable young woman thrust into a foreign spotlight. If we look beyond her privilege and status, you find a girl who was adored, criticized but ultimately fallible, just like anyone of us.
Anna Rodway, What should we expect from the work, visually, thematically and conceptually?
Visually: you’re going to experience a technicolour, theatrical landscape. Think pink, party, high hair, floral tones and three, frivolous, fun-loving handmaidens… but amidst this luxurious party, there’s something darker brewing in the Trades Hall, Carlton.
Thematically: The merging of a public and private space. The influence of media and propaganda. The rise and fall of a woman in power.
Conceptually: A collision between 18th century France and the modern day.
What do you hope audiences will take away from LadyCake, or walk away having felt?
We want the audience to be dropped into a world and taken on a colourful and captivating journey led by three, master story-tellers, Candace Miles, Madelaine Nunn and Anna Rodway.
As you leave our show – to walk across the road for a beverage at the John Curtin Hotel, or a hot chocolate on Lygon Street – you’ll be feeling that there may just be more to Marie Antoinette than a myth about a woman without a heart… or a head.
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