Nell Gwynn

There’s always one thing guaranteed when visiting the Stafford Gatehouse Met Studio and that’s a warm welcome and a friendly atmosphere, especially when Stafford Players are resident. And tonight’s performance was no exception with an outstanding production of the Jessica Swale classic play with music, ‘Nell Gwynn’.

The play, which premiered at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London in September 2015, is set in seventeenth century London in the leap year 1660. King Charles II has ascended to the English throne and has brought with him a keen love of the theatre together with all things flamboyant and extravagant. At the infamous playhouse in Drury Lane, Nell Gwynn, now earning a living as an orange seller having risen from the slums of Coal Yard Alley, has climbed the theatrical ladder to become one of the first female actresses to take to the stage in a very much male-dominated world, her charm and wit quickly attracting the attention of the King and the two of them eventually beginning a passionate affair. But can this new way of life protect her in a world where women are second class citizens, and with her needy family and friends at risk, where will her future lie – at home, on the stage or in the Palace? All was going to be revealed this evening in this joyous historical romp of her story, full of hilarious shenanigans and with many a double entendre!

Having arrived early, taken my seat and being quietly serenaded by the baroque background music, I had time to admire the composite set that had been created for this classic work. Simple but effective, black drapes provided a perfect backdrop to the colourful seventeenth century style furniture. There was a small, raised platform in the centre of the stage on which there was a large table and chairs, a curtained theatre ‘opera box’ on the left-hand side of the stage and an ornate dressing table and screen on the right. The use of different style chairs and props throughout the play cleverly distinguished the two main areas of performance between a meeting room in the theatre and the rather more grandeur of the royal palace. A projection screen above the stage was also used to guide us through the various scenes and also provide an English translation of the French and Portuguese passages.

As the house lights dimmed and a fanfare sounded, Ned Spiggett, a young actor, still in the infancy of his new vocation, took to the stage to deliver the prologue, nervously forgetting his lines and making such a hash of things that it became even more comical as cleverly planted hecklers in the audience showed him no mercy with their comments. Nell Gwynn, now standing by the side of the stage with her basket of oranges, was sympathetic to his troubles and ended up taking over, much to the praise of Charles Hart, the distinguished leading actor of the day who had sneaked onto the stage posing as an astrologer. Thanking Nell for her prologue to the prologue, he positioned himself carefully and peered into the night sky with his telescope to reveal the secrets of what the heavenly bodies embraced that evening which he then recited in a clever rhyme. Soon after, the ensemble arrived at the side of the stage to sing ‘A Brimmer To The King’ which was very stylishly performed and accompanied by piano and violin, much to our enjoyment. There would be further songs and musical excerpts later in the performance.

Having seen the very capable Bella Dalby’s superb acting ability as a marketing guru in the company’s 2025 production of ‘Gasping’, I already knew that the title role was in safe hands. And so it was as Bella portrayed Nell Gwynn quite brilliantly in an exhilarating performance displaying great charm, magnetism and self-assurance, hugely comical at times and very sincere at others, particularly in her relationships with both Charles Hart and the King and the loyalty she shared with her own family.

We also saw another side to Bella I wasn’t aware of before and that was her beautifully rich singing voice which we were able to enjoy in several songs throughout the production. I particularly liked ‘Bonjour, Bonne Journée’ as Nell completely upstaged Louise de Kerouaille, superbly played with her very capable linguistic skills by Andrea Keady, who also doubled as the jealous Queen Catherine.

Nell had taken an almost instant dislike to the visiting French aristocrat and hatched a crafty and hilarious ruse to get one up on her by wearing a hat five times larger than the newly tailored chapeau which Madame had specially commissioned in Parisian cloth for her visit to the theatre as she sat with the King in the luxury of the opera box to see Nell perform.

Nell had initially been reluctant to accept the praise and assurance of Charles Hart that she was good enough to act on the stage, especially as there were very few theatres that were including women in their productions despite the King’s permission for this to happen. Having finally joined Charles, skilfully portrayed by Mitch Sargeant, in the King’s Company of actors at the Playhouse Theatre, they began an affair as her stage career took off and went from strength to strength, supported from the very beginning  by Nancy, her dedicated friend, dresser and confidante, played by Deborah Williams.

With women now being allowed to perform on stage, the prospect of additional writing opportunities was warmly welcomed by playwright John Dryden, convincingly played by Warwick Hawkins. Actor and Theatre Manager, Thomas Killigrew, (Mark Datson), was of like mind in another fine performance. Having enjoyed his past dominance of playing female roles, Edward Kynaston, hilariously portrayed by Keith Minshull, was anything but happy, and in seeing the new prospects for women as a clear threat to his career, had us all in fits of laughter with his ongoing gestures and protestations. Together with Charles Hart, and not forgetting our actor in training, Ned Spigget (Joseph Jenkinson) who very bravely handled the awkwardness of the opening prologue so well, there was some really enjoyable scenes in the theatre meeting room as Nell was put through her rehearsal paces in preparation for her theatrical debut.

As King Charles II, Stuart Moyes gave a majestically royal performance with a great command of the stage. He was elegant, noble but not always quite in control of his various relationships which all added to the fun of the piece. The King’s most ambitious mistress was the grasping Lady Castlemaine confidently played by Lucy Henshall-Swinnerton who hilariously gave as much as she got!

John Hill in the role of Lord Arlington, the King’s advisor and right-hand man was suitably loyal but struggled with keeping the King under control; all part of the fun in another fine performance!

Helen Harrison also gave a very genuine and sympathetic performance in the role of Nell’s sister Rose who was a constant tower of strength to Nell, especially during her early days as an actress. Linet Carter as their foul-mouthed mother, Old Ma Gwynn, also portrayed her role well.

The ensemble, mainly responsible for the choral singing, included Ayesha Bari, Ollie Entwhistle, Max Hanson-Grace, Jason Greenwood and Paul Warrillow.

The play was brilliantly directed by Warwick Hawkins, assisted by Lisa Richardson-Lewty and produced by Deborah Williams. The Musical Director was Paul Warrillow with props by Ollie Entwistle and costumes by Deborah Williams. Not that they needed him once in over 100 pages of script, the prompter was David Forbes.

The stage was managed by Lisa Richardson-Lewty assisted by Ollie Entwistle and Max Hanson-Grace who all did a sterling job changing the look of each scene in full view of the audience which was no mean task!

Credit should also be given to Clare Williams for her usual talents in publicity and poster and programme design and to Dr David Jacques for supplying expertise on Restoration history and furniture from Sugnall Hall. Sound and vision were, as always, skilfully provided by the Stafford Gatehouse Theatre team.

All in all, this was yet another evening of first-class entertainment. Thank you Stafford Players for making me so welcome. I’m already looking forward to enjoying a glass of wine and a cucumber sandwich at ‘Abigail’s Party’ in July.

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