A Room with a View: A Timeless Tale of Self-Discovery Comes to Sydney and Melbourne
A new adaptation of EM Forster's classic novel A Room with a View is set to hit the stages of Sydney's Belvoir St Theatre and Melbourne Theatre Company. The play, written by Grace Chapple, follows the story of Lucy Honeychurch as she navigates a love triangle and her coming-of-age in 1908 England.
A new adaptation of EM Forster's classic novel A Room with a View is set to hit the stages of Sydney's Belvoir St Theatre and Melbourne Theatre Company. The play, written by Grace Chapple, follows the story of Lucy Honeychurch as she navigates a love triangle and her coming-of-age in 1908 England.
Chapple's journey to adapting the novel began when she visited Florence, Italy, in 2022, and listened to the audiobook of A Room with a View while exploring the city alone at the age of 27. She recalls feeling unsure about her life and questioning her identity, much like the protagonist Lucy.
"I was thinking, 'Do I even know who I am?'" Chapple says. "You know that first time you're forced to confront yourself alone and how you interact with the world?"
Chapple's adaptation aims to bring the complexity of Forster's novel to life, poking fun at turn-of-the-century English society and delving into themes of identity and self-discovery. The play stars Nathalie Morris as Lucy and will be directed by Hannah Goodwin.
"At first glance it feels like a quite conventional period romance … but the romance is really a vehicle for talking about more exciting political and transgressive topics than we're used to getting out of your Jane Austens,"Chapple explains.
Chapple's own life experiences have influenced her writing, including her decision to break up with her long-term boyfriend after listening to A Room with a View. She says the novel encouraged her to "blow up" her life and make significant changes.
"When you're stuck on train tracks in life, you need something huge to shake you out of it,"Chapple says.
Chapple's previous play, Never Closer, premiered in 2022 and has since earned rave reviews. Her next project, The Landlord, will explore themes of intergenerational inequality and the housing crisis.
"[The Landlord] is born out of just all the dehumanising experiences that come from being a renter,"she says.
A Room with a View will run at Belvoir St Theatre from October 3 to November 1 and at Melbourne Theatre Company from November 14 to December 19.