Nell Gwynn: a racy 17th century introduction to the history of British performance in the feminist mode! A delight at the Gladstone theatre
Nell Gwynn with Bronwyn Steinberg and Phillip Merriman
A British Comedy by Jessica Swale which won the Olivier award for best new Comedy in 2016, is based on individuals who really existed and whose close links with present day official titles of the monarchy, caused a bit of discomfort for some recent British productions where certain references to certain Dukes had to be changed “out of politeness” for the royals who came to see the show in London.
Nell Gwynn, the first woman to appear on the British stage in the 17th Century, highlights the rise of women on the British stage, where Nell Gwynn’s scandalous relationship with Charles II , who loved theatre, and declared he wanted to see women on the stage, caused many tongues to wag but provided excellent material for this tantalizing show,infused with a real love for performance. Director Crowder has caught it all.
The other side of the coin is probably the fact that most of us in the audience will not get all the jokes and scandalous references in the script because our knowledge of British history is not up to scratch. Nevermind though, taken at face value, this is a joyous, raucous, visually enticing whirlwind performance that hovers somewhere between 17th century popular street theatre, what the French called Théâtre de la Foire, with touches of Italian Comedia, flashy restauration comedy and many British theatrical traditions all interwoven which I found particularly rewarding.
The play tells us of the rise of Nell Gwynn, a strong outspoken contemporary women of the period, incarnated with much feist and strength by Robin Guy who is not only an actor who oozes strength and personality but she is also an extremely talented composer whose songs often punctuate the action even though a conscientious effort was made to miss notes, sing flat, to highlight the imperfections of this male dominated theatre where the highly talented J.T, Morris makes a lightning appearance as King Charles II hysterical Portuguese wife, speaking something quite undefinable!! And furious that the King’s mistress is in her bed!!! .Note the angry send up of a beautiful visiting French-speaking aristocrat played by Bronwyn Steiniberg whose place in the life of Charles II gets Nell’s goat and inspires a priceless piece of wit in period language!! Such was the life of the women who were mercilessly teased on the stage.
On this this 17th century stage, the men speak with British accents of the English of the period, whereas the women use contemporary Canadian. One of the many challenges of this production was precisely the necessary switching from various styles of performance which were, in most cases, quite successful.
From the first moment, Gwynn attracts the attention of famous Actor Charles Hart (Bryan Morris) who senses this seller of oranges has talent and offers her acting lessons. The first lessons show us what determined the training at that period when women were not players, where attitudes, or certain emotions that were the basis of actor training had to be learned and positioned as masks on the actors face, or as voices to be used at will. Nell, anxious to become an actress to get off the street, learns her lessons well but when Hart brings her into the Royal acting company of King Charles II, who is looking for female performers, she faces opposition by the traditional male performer of female roles played with exceptional style and much overthetop comic theatrical outrage by J.T.Morris. That encounter was riveting and excellent not only as a plunge into the kind of performing that posed obstacles for women but also as an example the stage codes used at the time that did not suite women. The use of the fan and the facial expressions, drew us immediately into the world of this theatre where women are absent and set the stage for the arrival of female influence. As Nell jigs and dances and flirts her way around she tells us : I can dance , I can sing, and I can do the other thing when we get together “ . . . Foppish movements illustrated by Morris, were to evolve into a new naturalistic style of acting represented by this strong practical woman, who had grown up in the streets “‘doing the other thing” to make a living , influencing the writing of new roles that suited women’s desires. Guy seamlessly incarnates this shift and it was so satisfying to watch what was both a lesson in acting and a course in British theatre history performed in front of us.
Hart, the great British actor is played by Bryan Morris whose physiognomy is amazingly like that of Canadian actor Colm Feore but opening night he did not capture the style that corresponded to the traditional form of theatrical performance that the other male actors seemed to grasp. It was as though he was caught between the past and the present and lacked the energy to make the suitable choices.
Phillip Merriman with the marvellous curly wig plays Charles 11 with impeccable royal poise and a sly spirit of fun and sense of self preservation that makes him a an utterly charming monarch . The writing makes him a lovable person as he understands the value of Nell as a person and as an artist in spite of his womanizing. As a result , Nell’s attraction to him felt utterly genuine when she declares she has neglected her family since she moved into the courtly world of her lover. Her loyalty to Charles was very touching and completely defendable especially with her tinges of guilt confronting her mother, played by a lusty, energetic Cindy Beaton who bursts into her world at the palace to look things over. The blustering Cindy Beaton, the gin-drinking mom with her broad near cockney accent owner of a bawdy house , is furious at her daughter Nell for neglecting her family and behaving no better than the “other working girls, just a more expensive whore from the streets of Cheap side”. We must also note Shawna Pasini who brings much to a role that introduces Nell’s sister Rose to the family of actors and who makes her mark very strongly in this interesting cast.
The smooth and versatile Nicholas Amott was a stern and uncompromising brother of the king, Lord Arlington, who became a mistrustful figure in the court incarnating power. Eventually his manoeuvres fail and he is condemned to walk the royal dogs when Nell takes up lodgings in the palace. Nick is also a fine musician who plays a wild harpsichord with the others in the group including David Whiteley who is also the restauration poet John Dryden , reinventing new forms of verse as well as lively plays, often inspired by Shakespeare . In this case they finish the show with Drydon’s Tyrannik Love , a hilarious parody of Shakespeare where all the characters die in a heap at the end!
Conceived as Theatre within theatre, under the lively and competent direction of Eleanor Crowder who has moved over from the Bear and Cie for this one and found herself in a new ambiance, has had to manage a huge cast with multiple characters that was certainly challenging but she seemed to relish the experience and you could feel her enthusiasm flowing through it all.
It is all loads of fun and not to be missed. In addition we see and hear Nick Amott on harpsichord, Brie Barker on the Mandolin, Phillip Merriman on percussion, David Whiteley on Cello, violin and viola.
All cast members sing.
Nell Gwynn plays at the Gladstone until June 9.
A Three Sisters Theatre Company Production.
Directed y Eleanor Crowder. Set design : David Magladry and Eleanor Crowder
Written by Jessica Swale
Original music by Robin Guy
Costumes Kathryn Racine
Cast
Nicholas Dave Amott
Philippe Merriman
Bronwyn Steinberg
Robin Guy
Bryan Morris
Brie Barker
David Whitelely
J.T. Morris
Cindy Beaton