''Britannicus'' is a five-act tragic play by the French dramatist

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...

. It was first performed on 13 December 1669 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. ''Britannicus'' is the first play in which Racine depicted

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

history. The tale of moral choice takes as its subject

Britannicus Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman Emperor Claudius and his third wife, Valeria Messalina. For a time, he was considered his father's heir, but t ...

, the son of the Roman emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

, and heir to the imperial throne. Britannicus' succession to the throne is however usurped by Lucius, later known as

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

, and the son of Claudius' wife

Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero. Agrippina was one of the most prominent ...

. Racine portrays Nero's true nature as revealed by his sudden desire for Britannicus's fiancée Junia. He wrests himself free from his mother's domination and plots to assassinate his adoptive brother. Nero is driven less by fear of being overthrown by Britannicus than by competition in love. His desire for Junia manifests itself in sadism towards the young woman and all that she loves. Agrippina is portrayed as a possessive mother who will not accept the loss of control over both her son and the Empire. Despite giving his name to the play, the character of Britannicus is more minor than those of Agrippina and Nero. Success only came to the play slowly, but of Racine's works, ''Britannicus'' is today second only to '' Andromaque'' amongst the repertory of the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

, and is frequently studied in high school. Talma as Nero in Britannicus by Racine - Delacroix - zeno

Roles

Role names and descriptions are from the first edition. * Nero, ''Emperor, son of Agrippine'' * Britannicus, ''son of the Emperor Claudius'' * Agrippine, ''widow of Domitius Enobarbus father of Nero, & from second marriage, widow of Emperor Claudius'' * Junie, ''beloved of Britannicus, granddaughter of Augustus'' * Burrhus, ''tutor of Nero'' * Narcisse, ''tutor of Britannicus'' * Albine, ''confidante of Agrippine'' * Guards

Modern performances

A modern translation-adaptation of the play has been published and premiered by the American playwright Howard Rubenstein. ''Britannicus'' was given by London's

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...

at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

in 1999. Dame

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 1938 – 10 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Tracy Bond, Teresa di ...

played Agrippina and

Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the United Kingdom, United States, and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film '' Die Another Day'', for whic ...

, her son, Nero. It was directed by Jonathan Kent, using Robert David MacDonald's translation. In 2011, Compass Theater premiered Howard Rubenstein's translation in San Diego. Glynn Bedington played Agrippina. The translation and Bedington's performance got rave reviews. The Xoregos Performing Company performed the play at Theater for the New City in 2018 in New York City using Howard Rubenstein's translation/adaptation. The play was performed in 2022 at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London with a translation and adaption by

Timberlake Wertenbaker Timberlake Wertenbaker is a British-based playwright, screenplay writer, and translator who has written plays for the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company and others. She has been described in ''The Washington Post'' as "the doyenne of po ...

Notes

References

* Hochman, Stanley, editor (1984). ''McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama'' (second edition, 5 volumes). New York: McGraw-Hill. . * This article is partly based upon a translation of the corresponding article from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia () is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...

External links

Britannicus original text
at

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Britannicus de Jean Racine : Analysis, Plot overview
{{Authority control Plays by Jean Racine Plays set in ancient Rome 1669 plays Tragedy plays Cultural depictions of Britannicus