Eleanor was raised to rule the huge Duchy of Aquitaine in southwest France, which was quite extraordinary given the times. Twelfth-century Europe wasn’t noted for liberal attitudes towards women, yet her father, in the absence of a male heir, educated her to rule the province she would inherit upon his death.
I chatted with Kerry O’Sullivan, who plays the part of Eleanor in Repertory Theatre’s upcoming production The Lion in Winter. She’s enthusiastic about the part.
“Eleanor was quite a woman!” said Kerry. “Dressed as an Amazon, she rode bare-breasted to Damascus with the crusaders.” That was when she was married to her first husband, King Louis VII of France. When Eleanor met King Henry II of England, it was love at first sight, but it was some time before they were able to marry.
“There was a lot of love and respect between Eleanor and Henry, even at the time the play’s set, 1183. After Henry had imprisoned her for her part in supporting their oldest son’s rebellion against his father, the love and respect was still there. They really enjoyed baiting each other, too,” Kerry said.
Kerry O’Sullivan has been acting all her life. Her mother, the well-respected director of many Repertory Theatre productions, directed Kerry in her first play.
