The Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble with PIP Theatre will bring Margaret Atwood’s epic novella-turned play The Penelopiad to Brisbane this August/September.

Penelope, dutiful wife of Odysseus and less beautiful cousin of Helen, is ready to tell her story. Left alone for decades while Odysseus fights in the Trojan War, Penelope must face her own battles, managing Ithaca, difficult in-laws, her son, and hordes of increasingly menacing suitors.

The Penelopiad is a contemporary take on Homer’s The Odyssey that sees Penelope and her twelve wronged maids take centre stage. Full of live music, poetry, tragedy, and Atwood’s wicked humour and performed by an ensemble cast of 13 lead by Core Ensemble member Liliana Macarone as Penelope.