Nell Gwynn - Globe Theatre

Sumptuous set of Nell Gwynn

Having seen Blue Stockings two years ago, I was excited to see Jessica Swale's latest offering. Following Nell's journey from humble theatre orange seller to successful actress and mistress of Charles II to aspiring playwright, Nell Gwynn was a big ball of wit, exuberance, ribaldry and joy. It was definitely my favourite Globe production of the year.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw was sympathetic and engaging as the courageous, determined, witty Nell. After being persuaded by actor Charles Hart (Jay Taylor) to try her hand at acting, Nell discovers she has a gift for it and quickly becomes indispensable to the company of players, much to the discomfort of Edward Kynaston (Greg Haiste), the company's established actor specialising in female roles. When the King shows an interest in Nell she is torn between her rewarding theatrical career (and Charles Hart, with whom she is romantically involved) and the prospect of a more comfortable - albeit potentially insecure - life with Charles II (David Sturzaker), with whom she has fallen in love.

The play was bawdy but not gratuitously so. Nell's humour was so infectious and her character so sympathetic that you couldn't help laughing along with her. The humour wasn't restricted to bawdiness; it was very witty and contained modern references (e.g. King Charles' anti-austerity remark). Kynaston was extremely funny as a stereotypical thespian, keen to demonstrate all the moves he had learned at 'fan school' in an attempt to intimidate Nell, and insisting on having an incredibly detailed backstory for the minor character he ended up playing. Nancy (Amanda Lawrence), the menial responsible for mending the company's costumes, was also a source of much of the play's humour. I loved it when it transpired that she had a perfect understanding of French as a result of having worked in France under Molière. 

My favourite scene was that in which Nell mocks the King's new mistress, Louise de Keroualle (Sasha Waddell), during a performance attended by the King and Louise. After Louise boasts to Nell that she intends to come to the performance wearing a 'grand chapeau' that will reduce Nell to insignificance, Nell comes on stage singing a song in French making fun of Louise, accompanied by other actors carrying an elaborate hat too gigantic to be worn.

The set was wonderful, complete with Royal Box and other theatre accoutrements. The costumes were excellent, including the many wigs. The music was great; songs entertaining.

One of the main themes of the play was the dearth of complex female characters in plays; once admitted into the company Nell tries to get Dryden (Graham Butler) to write more realistic and believable female characters. It was interesting to see this theme in the context of a play set in the seventeenth century, as it is of course still very relevant today.

Next: Probably Pride & Prejudice (guest post)

Blue Stockings - Globe Theatre

Set of Blue Stockings

My last visit to the Globe this season, I had high hopes for this play, and I wasn't disappointed. Well, actually, I was disappointed in one thing: the weather. It rained continuously. Continuously! It started raining while I was queuing outside the theatre.

I enjoyed the play very much despite the rain. It was excellent; witty, fast-paced, exuberant and uplifting. It followed four young women ("bluestockings") studying at Girton College, an all-female College at Cambridge University, in 1896-97. Having had to persuade their parents to allow them to go to university in the first place, the women faced ostracism and disparagement from male students and lecturers, not to mention society at large. Men who supported the women's right to study could face negative consequences themselves, in the form of (for example) being held back in their careers. The play showed the run-up to and the outcome of the vote that was held in 1897 in order to determine whether women should be allowed to graduate from the university. As it stood, women were allowed to study and attend (most) lectures, but could not graduate. No women were allowed to vote; it was open only to the University of Cambridge Senate and graduates.

Great performances by all; many members of the cast had been in A Midsummer Night's Dream, so it was good to see them again. Off topic, but this year's Globe version of AMND was probably the best I've ever seen. On topic, I liked the relationships between the four women students and the fact that, while they were all highly intelligent, passionate and determined people, their distinct personalities shone through. The tension between openly promoting women's rights and the fear of being seen to be too radical and harming the progress made thus far was shown to good effect.

A variety of male attitudes towards the higher education of women were touched upon, which I thought helped make the play realistic. There were men who were completely and utterly opposed to women's presence at university, men who supported it, and men who were somewhere in between - some respecting the women's determination to study while considering them ultimately misguided; others simply bemused at why the women would want to study when they were unable to graduate.

Set of Blue Stockings with banner informing
audience that women won the right to
graduate from Cambridge in 1948

There was more audience participation in this production than I have ever experienced before at the Globe. When Dr Henry Maudsley (Edward Peel), retrogressive psychiatrist, gave a speech right at the beginning about women not being suited to intellectual pursuits, there was a reasonable amount of booing, followed by cheering when Miss Welsh (Gabrielle Lloyd), a female lecturer/Mistress of Girton (?) had her say. I enjoyed the audience participation. It heightened the atmosphere and created a sense of community/common feeling among the groundlings without becoming pantomimic. I wish it could happen more often in plays at the Globe; I imagine it's people's reverence for Shakespeare that holds them back during his plays.

There's a lot more I could say about this play...music and costumes were good, 1890s jig was excellent...Highly enjoyable play about what is sadly still a pretty current, relevant issue.