REVIEW: Pretty, Witty Nell at Barons Court Theatre 18-22

‘There is a lot of pleasure to be had in this kind of pastiche’ ★★★★

This is impressive: a monologue in rhyming verse that nods to Restoration drama in its form while explicitly discussing the career of the most famous actress of that era. I particularly enjoyed the first part, a historical rundown of the Civil War, the Protectorate, and the Restoration. Nell Gwynne’s own story, the focus of the rest of the work, felt slightly less compelling – an educational account of a famous actress (and, as she reminds us, sex worker) turned mistress of the King that doesn’t quite amount to a reinvention or new perspective.

Hannah Attfield’s performance as the consummate performer Nell presents her as larger than life, adept at over-the-top mockery and a particular style of, as she puts it, “jibing overacting.” Her description of her dual career as actor and sex worker starting at a very young age is at times uncomfortably played for laughs, but the play allows us to see this as a performance, a version of the truth. But I started wondering what the actual truth was.

Nell’s description of her life seems implausibly simple, especially what she describes as genuine affection for her lover the King, on whose largesse she lives. As a trick, a summoning up of the past - of theatre, and of Nell – this is impressive. As a character study, it may tease and jibe too much to be completely effective. But I enjoyed the complexity of the rhyming pentameter lines, and there is a lot of pleasure to be had in this kind of pastiche – especially given the close attention to meter and rhyme and the writing of Dryden and his contemporaries that has clearly gone into Ryan J-W Smith’s script. 

Photo credit: Ryan J-W Smith

Pretty, Witty Nell, Barons Court Theatre 18-22 July, written by Ryan J-W Smith, produced by Rogue Shakespeare, https://www.baronscourttheatre.com/pretty-witty-nell

Review Clio Doyle is a playwright and university lecturer.