NELL GWYNN - AT THE ADC
‘Let not poor Nelly starve’. The dying words of King Charles II proving that when it comes to passion nothing beats the story of a prince and the showgirl. Jessica Swale’s fast-moving bio of the orange-selling strumpet turned royal mistress won all kinds of comedy awards when it was first produced ten years ago. Imagine a ‘Carry On Nell’ or even a ‘Carry On King Charlie’ – a roisterous knockabout full of bawdy nudge-nudge jokes that would leave your great aunt in a tizzy. Presented for the Globe Theatre it needs lashings of outrageous camp, boisterous shenanigans and breathless boob-barbs. There are some tender moments as Charles genuinely falls for Nell Gwynn, the Pygmalion actress who rises from Cheapside to monarchical bedside.
Swale also focuses on the play-within-a-play as we see the Restoration action troupe struggle with the new world of women on stage and the paucity of good writing. Thus, John Dryden (seemingly according to Swale here, the only playwright in town) churns out tedious rewrites of Shakespeare or equally dull classical comedies. Swale’s play is in its way a love letter to acting, to theatre and a feminist outcry (add in a huge dollop of history too).
All these disparate themes present a huge challenge for any acting company let alone an amateur one. So how did the Combine Actors of Cambridge do? My verdict is: a mixed bag. The production lacked fizz, had too many static scenes (lots of standing in line waiting for a cue), and any dramatic tension was often dissipated by unnecessary blackouts for scene changes. Many of the double entendres were lost - too few wink winks.
All that aside, there were some compelling performances. Jasmine Shah made a good fist of the feisty Nell and there were some rib-tickling vignettes from Sarah Jarvis who played two of the King’s mistresses. Andrew Roberts gave weight and panache to the role of theatre director Thomas Killigrew and Mark Hampton presented a rather likeable king. Lindsey McAuley was outstanding as the gossipy backstage wardrobe mistress who is thrust into a speaking part against her will. A fine comic scene that. There were bawdy songs that seemed to come out of nowhere special (though you can imagine that working at the Globe) and the ending of the rather long play was a bit of a damp squib.
To be fair this was a first night and confidence with lines and staging might well improve but overall this Nell Gwynn was disappointing. I think that without the big stage and the relentless energy of the piece, Swale’s play reveals a rather hollow centre. It may not make Nelly starve, but it did make her rather too thin.
