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A CurtainUp Review
’Tis Pity She’s a Whore
Tis a Pity that "Tis a Pity She's a Whore is at BAM so Briefly New York Update by William Coyle
Since I'm on the same page on this as Sebastian King, I'll stop here and point you to his detailed Original Review. "Tis a Pity She's a Whore is co-produced with the Barbican, London; Les Gémeaux/Sceaux/Scène Nationale; and Sydney Festival Production credits per review below,with following additional New York Credits: Additional Production Credits: Production Manager: Simon Bourne Costume Supervisor: Angie Burns Company Manager: Linsey Hall Technical Stage Manager: Dougie Wilson Deputy Stage Manager: Clare Loxley Lighting Technician: Kristina Hjelm Sound Technician: Mark Cunningham Wardrobe Manager: Victoria Youngson American Stage Manager: R. Michael Blanco Performances at BAM's Harvey Theater through March 31st Mar 20—24 & 27—31, 2012 at 7:30pm; Mar 25, 2012 at 3pm; Mar 31, 2012 at 2pm Season ticket price*: $20—64; Full price*: $25—80 http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=3695 Reviewed by William Coyle March 23, 2012 Reviewed by William Coyle, based on March 23 performance |
Original Review by Sebastian King
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Do not betray me to your mirth or hate. Love me or kill me brother. — Annabella
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When Giovanni (Jack Gordon) returns to his home in Parma from university, he wrestles with his attraction towards his sister Annabella (Lydia Wilson). Despite stern advice from the Friar (Nyasha Hatendi), he discloses his feelings to her and finds that she reciprocates them. With the help of Annabella’s maid Putana (Lizzie Hopley), they embark on a dangerous love affair, made all the more difficult by Annabella’s sudden pregnancy, and her approaching marriage to the jealous Soranzo (Jack Hawkins).
From the start, it is clear that this production places its female characters, particularly Annabella, at its heart. Before the play begins, Annabella – a teenager in a blood-red hoody, looking like a modern day Little Red Riding Hood – sits on her blood-red bed in her blood-red bedroom. The imagery of Nick Ormerod’s design is not subtle, but it is striking, as are the posters adorning Annabella’s bedroom walls, which represent the play’s themes of religion (the Virgin Mary), romance (Gone With the Wind and Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and blood and death (True Blood and The Vampire Diaries). As the lights go down, loud music begins to pump, and Annabella – like a puppet master – summons the other characters into the bedroom, where the action of the entire play unfolds. Throughout the opening scenes, Annabella remains present – a silent observer and physical manifestation of her brother’s desires.
Donnellan’s direction places clear storytelling at its core, but he has a playful touch which made me feel like I was discovering this play for the first time. In his rendering of the text, superfluous storylines are cut or condensed, and several characters are dispensed with altogether, ensuring that we are not distracted by the comic misadventures of master-and-servant double act Bergetto and Poggio. All that remains of a subplot is the story of Hippolita, Soranzo’s scorned former lover, in a heartbreaking performance by Suzanne Burden.
The acting across the board is of the highest standard, and the company work brilliantly as an ever-present ensemble, frequently bursting into high-octane dance routines, or plainsong chanting. However, a production of ’Tis Pity stands or falls by the strength of its central performances. Thankfully, Hawkins and Wilson are perfectly cast as the tragic lovers and there is a palpable chemistry between them. The moment when the siblings express their love for each other is genuinely touching, and there is a believable awkwardness before they consummate their relationship physically. Wilson in particular brings a feisty energy to a role that has previously been played as a rather pathetic victim. She appears to grow up over the course of the play, and we get the sense that this is a tragic coming-of-age story, similar to the movie posters that decorate her walls.
The final scene of the play is shocking, but aficionados of the play may be in for a more of a shock than they expect, as it is radically reworked to be given a slightly more realistic, but nonetheless devastating conclusion than the one we are used to. Visceral, moving and disturbing, this is a production that wears its bloodied heart on its sleeve, bringing this classic play pulsating into the 21st Century.
| ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore
Written by John Ford Directed by Declan Donnellan Starring: Lydia Wilson, Jack Gordon, Lizzie Hopley, Jack Hawkins, Suzanne Burden, Laurence Spellman With: David Collings, Ryan Ellsworth, Jimmy Fairhurst, Nyasha Hatendi, Peter Moreton, David Mumeni Designed by Nick Ormerod Lighting: Judith Greenwood Composer and Sound Designer: Nick Powell Movement: Jane Gibson A Cheek by Jowl production Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes without an interval Box Office: 020 7382 7055 Booking to 10th March 2012 Reviewed by Sebastian King based on 23rd February performance at Silk Street Theatre, Barbican Centre, London. EC2Y 8DS (Tube: Barbican) |
