The Rover

Hellena, the young heroine of Aphra Behn’s The Rover, uses her imagination to escape not just her situation, but also the gender roles imposed on her by a patriarchal society. Aphra Behn did this in real life through her writing. Hellena does it in the play by dressing up in carnival costumes and by disguising herself as a boy. To take this idea a step further, this adaptation has Hellena and all the other characters played by present-day teenage girls play-acting together in their bedroom during a sleepover. By acting out the story — playing women and men, imagining what it’s like to be in love, to be an adult, to deal with violence and forgiveness and loss — the girls escape their own preconceptions and limitations, and discover for themselves what love is all about.