Playhouse Creatures

This period production takes us right back to 17th century, at the time of restoration comedy and when Charles II allowed women to act on stage for the first time. Set backstage of the Playhouse it tells of these early women and their desperate struggle to survive, their strong friendships and their rivalries to catch the eye of the King! They strive to bring some respectability to their new profession but that will take many years to achieve and at this point they still have to sell themselves to try and achieve fame as they aspire to make their fortunes, but will this be their downfall?   

Helena Lyons plays Mary Betterton married to the theatre’s main actor and director and was best known for being the first woman to portray Shakespearian characters. She plays a virtuous woman who was dedicated to the serious business of an acting profession.  Sixteen year old Nell Gwynn, famously known as the mistress of King Charles II, was played by Becky Linge. She works on the street selling oranges but is determined to better herself and gain her fame and fortune on the stage. Mrs Farley (Emilia Green) vies for the attention of the rich and powerful men as she performs in the Playhouse and gains the attention of the King but falls out of favour when she becomes pregnant. Kelly Fletcher plays Mrs Marshall; her great beauty on stage is admired by wealthy gentlemen but she is determined to be taken seriously and strives to grant actresses the right to earn shares in the Theatre. Doll Common, (Jenni Horn) shuffles around the stage picking up the costumes and emptying the piss pot but always has time to lend an ear to her fellow actresses and listen to their troubles.

These five talented women all give very strong performances, each are very different and memorable as they tell the stories of these real life early actresses.  Their roles are intricate, wordy and very emotionally demanding. They capture their individual personalities perfectly and give poignant and compelling performances. Director Helen makes the point that the women of today in theatre still face the problems that these early actresses faced all those years ago.

There is also an ensemble of lavender sellers, set dressers, stage hands and gentlemen in the onstage audience. This includes Charlotte Sampson and Becky Hutchison who both have beautiful voices and all this ensemble perform some traditional period musical numbers to great effect. They are accompanied by Ruth Hart, Des Hart and David Leney, this being their first time ‘onstage’ as they are normally to be found performing traditional folk music in supportive pubs.

The Gallery Studio is a perfect setting for this production, lit with candles and with a vast multitude of props to give us a taste of early backstage life. Charlotte Sampson was also responsible for creating all the period hairstyles and wigs, many of which she changes onstage during the performance. Costumes all looked good, being suitably dowdy to the more intricate as the fortunes of the actresses improve along with some fabulous fans. Conducive lighting and sound all added to create the mood. As the action takes place backstage in the theatre we also see the stagehands following their scripts onstage and setting the scenes as part of the action which worked well.

All credit go to Helen Clarke, for her inspiration and vision and to all her cast and team for a very professional production leaving us and the audience with an education and much to ponder.

Catherine Dixey. NODA East Representative District E12

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