Playhouse Creatures

The title refers to the unflattering name given to the first actresses to take to the stage in 1660 at the decree of Charles II. We were given a so-descriptive-you-could-smell-it tour of poverty and plague-stricken London as we tracked Nell Gwyn’s rise from street urchin to the King’s favourite. Peppered with ripe language and bawdiness, the excellent cast took great pleasure in overacting in excepts of the plays of the day. Margot Jobbins excelled as dogsbody Doll Common, a world-weary female Baldrick, but the whole cast gave strong performances in a play that was both funny and thought-provoking.

Brighton Little Theatre, 27 October 2015

Rating: