It's True, It's True, It's True

Rape in Renaissance Italy: A Feminist Perspective

By: Victor Cordell - Apr 19, 2025

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.  The more that time marches on, the less knowledgeable about history we become.  Youth today, living in their time bubble, probably feel that the “#Me Too” movement was delivered by virgin birth.  But evolutionary threads exist for virtually any human occurrence.

Marin Theatre offers the energized and rowdy It’s True, It’s True, It’s True, a fascinating look at a seemingly rare and riveting event.  It is the story of Artemisia Gentileschi, a noted Baroque painter, who as a teenager produced masterworks and would become an esteemed court painter and whose works appear at several major museums.  At the age of 15 she was raped by an older male artist, Agostino Tassi in Rome in 1612.  Unusually, Artemisia, a female minor in a heavily patriarchal culture, possessed the determination to have Agostino tried, and the play is fact-based on the transcripts of the court proceedings.  The play provides some backstory, and otherwise, shares direct testimony from the trial and its outcome.

This is a “he-said, she-said” which will evoke memories of moderns like Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill, Donald Trump/E. Jean Carroll, and Brett Kavanaugh/Christine Blasey Ford.  And like these modern cases, the main line of defense is to vilify the accuser by depicting her as a fallen woman or an attention seeker.  In Artemisia’s case, testimony by Agostino’s associates of her many trysts is even found to be false.

The action of the play is boisterous, replete with explicit language, simulated sex, partial nudity, driven by a surprising and unusual script delivered by an all-female cast, perhaps in a nod to feminism.  The performances by all four women are absolutely exemplary.  My personal favorite is Maggie Mason displaying the confidence and pride of the devious Agostino who led Artemisia along after the rape, suggesting that they would marry.  Keiko Shimosato Carreiro is also highly animated as Tuzia, a neighbor who became a surrogate mother to Artemisia, watching over her and providing essential support and information at the trial.

Alicia M.P. Nelson is the judge, nominally a part with less to do, but with her interventions and wry delivery, she gives the part vitality.  Finally, Emily Anderson portrays Artemisia, a youth in age, restrained in her anger and with conviction to stay the course in the trial.  In a shocking twist, she survives a perverse lie detector test in which she is subjected by the judge to thumbscrews to somehow prove that her testimony is legitimate.

Although the production is small, it is handsome.  Pamela Rodriguez-Montero has created hybrid costumery that spans the centuries.  Matt Stines’ sound design and Marshall’s lighting enhance the overall feel of Mikiko Uesugi’s simple but suitable scenic design for the intimate Lieberman Theatre.  Director Rebecca Wear integrates all of the pieces and drives the pace to create a gripping sense of urgency.

The play’s structure is somewhat eccentric in that the narrative is punctuated several times by musical performances from the four actors.  It feels strange to experience them doing punk songs, with the ingénue-looking Anderson propelling a gritty-sounding guitar like a buzzsaw while others beat on percussion.  The music is fun, but it’s hard to catch enough of the lyrics to know if they contribute to the story line.  You might wonder why these interludes.  Perhaps they make a symbolic link across the 400 years, supporting the notion that today is not so different from yesterday.

There is also a play within a play, the Biblical story of Susanna and the Elders.  It relates to the main narrative on multiple levels.  In 1610, Artemisia actually depicted the sexual attack by the elders in a painting.  Unlike other paintings by males on this theme, she shows Susannah to be distressed and rejecting the attention.  The selection of the subject may have represented advances that she suffered from men before the rape occurred.

There are other presences and absences that one may wish were a little different.  If you think the words “it’s true” in the title are repeated more than necessary, wait until you hear Artemisia repeat the words tens of times with varying emphasis.  What’s missing is projections of Artemisia’s paintings, which would add credibility to her claimed reputation as an artist.  Finally, some playwrights expect the audience to pick up on character names and shifts in how characters are identified the first time they are mentioned. Some audience members were left in the lurch because multiple, long Italian names were introduced too quickly.

That said, despite its brief 75 minutes including musical diversions, It’s True, It’s True, It’s True covers considerable ground concerning justice and women’s rights, process, history, art, and more.  Those with appropriate interests will find the play highly interesting and rewarding.

It’s True, It’s True, It’s True, written by Billy Barrett and Ellice Stevens, is produced by Marin Theatre and plays on its stage at 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley, CA through May 4, 2025.