‘..but never yet Incest and Murder have so strangely met’.
– The Cardinal, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore
Thus sums up The Company Theatre’s thrilling debut of this perverted and highly controversial play by John Ford. Content warnings include depictions of graphic violence, domestic violence, nudity, sex scenes…and Shakespearean-language. The play was first written and performed circa 1629, about a decade after Shakespeare died. Shakespeare wrote iconic and often gory plays, but this blood-soaked production makes Shakespeare look like Charles Dickens.
This production was inspired by members of the cast who studied at Actors Centre Australia where ‘Tis Pity was briefly explored. This acting studio is renowned for excruciating rehearsals; every single word in a script is dissected, analysed, repeated over and over again until it is not just imprinted in your brain, but etched in the very depths of your soul. It’s that kind of dedication to the craft that made this play a success, which otherwise might have fallen flat due to the archaic script that initially sounded esoteric and heavy with wordy exposition.
The play is about incest between a brother and sister who have fallen in love; she is the beautiful prize every man desires and tries to woo, but it is her brother who seduces her. The affair is sanctioned by her maid, Putana who keeps their secret in her confidence. After all, ‘love is love’, right? Erm no, according to….well just about everybody else, including the brother who seeks counsel from his Friar to quell him of his illicit feelings.
Although Ford chose a provocative title which squarely blames the woman, this production shows the crude side of male dominance and primal need for ownership and power. Perhaps Ford’s intention was to neutrally present the conflict between passion and conscience, but this production turns up the violence to full force to show that women back then (and many ways now) did not have agency over their own body. Annabella as the sister is merely a pawn in this game of thrones dominated by men, cardinals, soldiers, unsuitable suitors and even her own brother who commits a heinous crime against her.
Olivia Hall-Smith as Annabella and Bayley Prendergast as her brother, Giovanni, give their all to these challenging roles, but it did feel at times that the expository dialogue was a barrier to their heat and passion. The direction seemed to lean into overemphasis of ‘playing the effect’ (e.g. shaking uncontrollably to ‘show’ vulnerability). This is is not to take away any credit to the lead actors in incredibly risky roles, but it’s an important observation. What did work wonderfully was the use of props as euphemisms (e.g an egg) which was skilfully and delicately handled during their passionate love making. We will never look at eggs in the same way again.
Other standout elements in the production was the stagecraft, which created the haunting, disturbing world of that uncomfortable intersection between religion and sex. The interior balcony allowed characters to hide in shadows while they plotted and schemed. The incanting murmurs shrouded in darkness sent chills down the spine, while the lighting was expertly used to set the mood and tone for each scene.
Arkia Ashraf as Soranzo, the man who eventually marries Annabella only to then discover her secret, was reminiscent of Billy Zane’s character in Titanic. Perfect casting choice that again would benefit from a little more exploration of his character’s wants, needs and desires to elevate the dramatic tension.
Isabella Williams as Hippolita, Soranzo’s scorned lover, was absolutely brilliant, owning the script as if it were her tailor-made for her. Every inch of her performance oozed Lady Macbeth whilst still garnering sympathy for what that bastard Soranzo did to her. Her dance at the start of Act 2 was intriguing, making a hat and coat look decidedly animated and creepy.
Speaking of creepy…Will Manton as Grimaldi was another standout. The script says he is ‘a Roman gentleman’ but the impression was that of a solider with PTSD. Either way, it was a fantastic performance, intensified by his psychotic sock-puppet soliloquy.
Clay Crighton as Vazquez, a musician and servant to Soranzo, schemed along brilliantly with Hippoli, creating a believable character arc from innocuous fiddler to cold-blooded murderer. Claudia Shnier as Putana (a name which literally means ‘whore’) gave a solid performance as Annabella’s loyal, level-headed and well-meaning servant. In fact, she seemed so self-assured and practical that what happened to her took the audience completely by surprise.
Martin Portus as Florio, father of Annabella and Giovanni, and Maeliosa Stafford as their trusted Friar, brought years and wisdom to their roles with authority and gravitas. Florio’s reaction when he learns of his daughter’s death was heartbreaking; the Friar’s final look at the carnage before him expressed an emotion that words simply can not. These were shades of brilliant acting that would be worthy of statuettes, yet so humbly and generously shared with independent theatre.
Dallas Reedman as Bergetto (a clumsy, hapless suitor) and Steve Maresca as Donado, his father, made a good, solid pairing, working well with the material to make a marriage proposal seem like a business deal gone hilariously wrong. It was interesting to note that Ford didn’t give Donado a memorable scene to mourn the shocking death of his child the way Florio does – he’s basically told to ‘get over it’. Perhaps future productions might take some liberties to give more weighting to this tragedy.
Speaking of shocking deaths, the whole ‘get up and walk off after you die’ tended to dilute what just happened. It would have been more interesting to see the bodies stay dead and disposed in different ways. For example, one of the bodies got rolled under the table after her gruesome death. Reedman, however, got up and crashed into a chair while hurriedly making his exit, but perhaps that was keeping in line with his clumsy character.
Finally, Mark Barry as The Cardinal personified loathsome privilege and corruption. As a beautiful young victim lay blood-slain before him, he pinches her jewellery ‘for the coffers’, and gropes her bare skin while declaring ‘pity she’s a whore’.
Perhaps a more apt title for this play would have been Pity He’s a Man.
‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore is on at Flow Studios until 13 November. For tickets and showtimes go to https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/972696
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Images: Mark Grzic @redharvestproductions