PLAYHOUSE CREATURES
By April De Angelis
Directed by: Emily Kempson and
Philippa Wilkinson
Producer: Holly Kirkpatrick
Set Design: Max Dorey
Sound Design: Ben Luke
Sound Technician: Amy Clement
Lighting: Grace Wright and Amy Powell Yeates
Stage Manager: Ruth Armour
Cast:
Doll Common - Stephanie James
Nell Gwyn - Rosie Isles
Mrs Farley - Fenella Dawnay
Mrs Betterton - Joanna O'Malley
Mrs Marshall - Harriet Green
Director's Note
From the outset we were captivated by the sense of play and energy of April De Angelis’ text. We felt compelled to tell the remarkable stories of these five women.
Restriction permeates the text and seeped into our design concept of creatures caged by both corsets and circumstance. But they did speak, and they were the first – their legacy endures.
It’s been an amazing process. We couldn’t have asked for a more talented and intelligent cast to bring these ideas to life with. Thank you for coming.
Philippa and Emily.
REVIEWS
Charlotte Sintrat, Leeds Student Newspaper. Friday November 29th 2008
Advertised as “TG’s most exciting theatrical event of the year,” this dark and faintly comic take on British dramatist’s April DeAngelis’ historical drama, offers a certain style to a period where women in theatre were regarded under the same light as prostitutes, and where theatres had only just re-opened after seventeen years of puritan suppression. Described as encouraging coarseness and vulgar comportment, the re-opening of such places saw the creation of five of the most admirable British actresses of their time; Doll Common, Nell Gwyn, Elizabeth Farley, Rebecca Marshall and Mary Betterton.
Playhouse Creatures focuses on the turbulent lives of these aspiring actresses, incorporating mild humour, lewd conversations with a moving atmosphere.
As the first TG play to completely sell out by opening night and to make Stage@Leeds a profit, it promised to be a night to remember. Entering the theatre, I was immediately struck by extremely modest scenery. A small chest, and a few black boxes were the only eye pleasers. Although one could quickly judge and point the finger at set designer Max Dorey, as soon as the actresses set foot on stage, this minimalistic scenery just allowed the audience to fully focus on the actors.
One of the first characters to appear on stage is Doll Common (Stephanie James). Being the first to appear and also without a doubt being the most memorable and likeable in this play is quite an accomplishment for this production. This being said, amateur would not be my word of choice as all five performers delivered notably convincing takes on these historical characters. Stephanie James’ cockney accent and broken backed winging lady gave pace and offered many moments of comic relief in a play which would otherwise be dark and sinister. Rosie Gwyn [the writer means Rosie Isles here] as Nell Gwyn, Fenella Dawnay and Harriet Green as Elizabeth Farley and Rebecca Marshall themselves too demonstrated high standards of acting for such a production, and observing the audiences reactions, this was the general consensus.
Joanna O’Malley’s Mrs Betterton was powerful and vastly absorbing even as the play itself started to loose the momentum it has accumulated in Act one, towards the middle of the second act.
Sharply performed, the only attribute that displeased in this production was the over evident DIY costume corsets that left something to be desired even for such standards. Nevertheless, hats of to Philippa Wilkinson and Emily Kempson for directing such a powerful TG play. As Doll Common would say “Cross my heart and spit on a corpse” Playhouse Creatures was a treat!
