When Achelous introduces Ovid's Mestra, he notably refers to her patronymically and periphrastically as the 'daughter of Erysichthon, who wed /
Autolycus' (8.1042-3).
It is no coincidence that questions of counterfeiting cluster around
Autolycus, who showcases the rogue/ player's chameleon-like ability to impersonate his social superiors.
His band of travelling companions includes Amphiaraus (Ian McShane),
Autolycus (Rufus Sewell) and Tydeus (Aksel Hennie).
But it's Arif Yampolsky, playing the wily pickpocket
Autolycus, who steals the comic spotlight, along with Tilford's bag of gold coins.
With co-stars including Rufus Sewell (
Autolycus) and Joseph Fiennes (King Eurystheus) and plenty of on-screen action, this is a big step-up from Renny Harlin's The Legend of Hercules earlier this year - but it's inevitably being overshadowed by Apes, Guardians and Transformers.
The stories prove good for business, Hercules being in the mercenary-for-hire trade, which he practices in concert with a quartet of trusted confidants:
Autolycus (Rufus Sewell), a childhood friend who rose with the orphaned Hercules through the ranks of the Athenian army; the fearsome Amazonian warrior Atalanta (Ingrid Bolso Berdal); shell-shocked mute Tydeus (impressive Norwegian actor Aksel Hennie); and mystical seer Amphiaraus (a superbly hammy Ian McShane), who sees much but is at a loss to unravel the mystery of the incident in Hercules' past that turned him from conquering hero into restless wanderer.
| Ingrid Berdal as Atalanta, Dwayne Johnson as Hercules, Reece Ritchie as Iolaus and Rufus Sewell as
Autolycus in the new movie | Ingrid Berdal as Atalanta, Dwayne Johnson as Hercules, Reece Ritchie as Iolaus and Rufus Sewell as
Autolycus in the new movie
In contrast, subsequent to Armin are As You Like It with six songs (sung by Amiens, Lords, Jaques, Touchstone, pages, and Hymen); Twelfth Night with seven songs and three song fragments (primarily by Feste); The Winter's Tale with six songs (primarily by
Autolycus); and The Tempest with seven songs and three song fragments (by Ariel and others).
In one scene,
Autolycus, a villain, talks about a ballad that includes the lyrics, "It was thought she was a woman, and was turned into a cold fish." The line now describes a hard-hearted, unfeeling individual.
Associate artistic director Pete Pryor performed the role of
Autolycus as a growling emcee reminiscent of Tom Waits, wandering the audience with a microphone.
Allegretti's fiction has appeared in Think Journal, The Adroit Journal,
autolycus: rogue literary journal and Petrichor Machine, among other periodicals.
It is the restoration of faith in grace and in personal bonds that I explore in this essay, focusing not on Leontes but instead on the rogue character
Autolycus whose action is central to reuniting the kingdoms.
