Nell Gwynn is one of those historical figures whose history has become so much the stuff of legend that, had she not existed, someone would have had to invent her.
Jessica Swale’s playful take on the history of this extraordinarily influential woman was originally written for performance at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2015, so this new co-production between Shakespeare North Playhouse, Theatre by the Lake Keswick and Storyhouse feels as though it is coming home on its arrival at Chester’s Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, where it can once more play beneath the stars.
The true story is so much larger than life that the harder you try to tell it for real the more it sounds like a work of fiction. Swale’s telling makes great use of Nell’s life in the theatre to blur the boundaries between reality and make-believe, and the text is absolutely littered with both genuine references and tales that are very likely apocryphal.
We begin in the theatre, as Nell, played by Rose Shalloo, heckles a performance by the actor Charles Hart (Elliott Harper). English theatre is at a groundbreaking point in its history, with women vying to perform on the stage, and as soon as King Charles II, whose nickname of Merry Monarch was well earned, makes this possible, Hart puts Nell into his company, much to the chagrin of Edward Kynaston, who has erstwhile performed all the female roles in their plays.
The lengthy first act brings great opportunities for an exploration of how Nell’s stage appearances, along with the work of her arch rival Moll Davies, inspired the writing of playwrights such as John Dryden, and changed the way that the public attended the theatre. It also explores the complicated relationships between her and both Hart and the King, as well as the King’s prodigious philandering.
In act II, we turn to the wider political and social impact of the King’s affairs (both those personal and of state) and to the difficulties that Nell faces as a result of her new-found status as a mistress to the King, before double tragedy robs her of both her new life and her old. Despite the difficult twists and turns in the story, however, the play has an upbeat and lively atmosphere, and delivers a strong message of female empowerment amidst one of the most patriarchal of societies.
Shalloo is a strong central presence in the cast, and depicts the dramatic change in her character with tremendous subtlety as her life evolves around her. Guy Woolf cuts quite a dash as Charles II, resplendent in his flowing locks and finery, and Harper makes a commanding foil for Nell throughout. Stanton Wright is one of the wittiest turns as the pompous Kynaston, with his nose simultaneously out of joint and in the air, while Jamie Ross is a splendidly befuddled Dryden.
With sumptuous costumes and wigs by Jess Curtis and Jo Best, the production really evokes the period, and Swale’s text, under Bryony Shanahan’s energetic direction, delivers a 17th century feel with a contemporary twist. The story is punctuated and spurred on by musical interludes featuring a sprightly new score by Candida Caldicot.
The nights are certainly drawing in since I visited Grosvenor Park six weeks ago for ‘Outlaws’, and it is now quite dark by the time we reach the latter part of Nell Gwynn, which makes for a remarkable transformation on stage from the sunshine of its opening to the starlit finale. Bringing it from the Jacobean setting of Shakespeare North to the airy arena in the park is quite inspired.
Nell Gwynn plays at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre until 6th September with tickets available here.
Star Rating 4 stars
Production photography by Mark McNulty
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| Rose Shalloo as Nell Gwynn |
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| Jamie Ross, Stanton Wright and Elliott Harper as Dryden, Kynaston and Hart |
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| Guy Woolf as Charles II |
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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