''Tis Pity She's A Whore' Review from The Telegraph - Dominic Cavendish
(Another glowing revew for Tis pity and Damien's performance. Wonderful to read these retrospectively, especially after Damien won a Charleson prize for his performance earlier this year. Also intersting is the controversy the poster created, moreso than the play itself, still considered one of the most controversial in english literature!)
“the juvenile leads here fall on the barely tested shoulders of Damien Molony and Sara Vickers. They acquit themselves very well indeed – sensuous, beautiful, and moving up the register of desperation with a finesse that bodes well for both.”
'Tis Pity She's a Whore, West Yorkshire Playhouse/The Lady in the Van, Hull Truck theatre, review
John Ford's c1633 imagining of contemporary Parma is given a stylish, sexy and fiendishly clever Sixties makeover. 'Tis Pity: * * * * / The Lady: * * * *
By Dominic Cavendish
The Virgin Mary a harlot? That’s what some people in Leeds, including members of the Roman Catholic diocese, angrily felt was implied by a controversial 20ft poster which used an image of the pieta to advertise Jonathon Munby’s revival of 'Tis Pity She’s a Whore at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. They complained. Down went the offending banner, on went the show. And the big news to shout from the rooftops is that firstly Munby’s production is sensationally, unmissably good – and secondly, believe it or not, that the Catholic Church comes out of the play surprisingly well.
Perhaps I’ve misread the drama completely but in John Ford’s c1633 imagining of contemporary Parma – here given a stylish, sexy and fiendishly clever Sixties makeover – the advice given to young Giovanni by his friar-confessor Bonaventura seems eminently reasonable: don’t give into those incestuous longings towards your sister Annabella or there’ll be trouble. To cite the verse itself: “Death waits on thy lust.” Yes, the older man throws the (good) book at both of them – warning of hellfire and damnation – but you sense from the word go that something has seized Giovanni which must play out to its inevitable – let’s not say “natural” – ruinous conclusion. Initially clinging to tortuous rational explanations for the sanctity of his passion, the youth is propelled towards the final bloody consummation of his illicit desire.
Church and society may play their part in backing these lovers into a demented corner but Ford, who tolls the word “fate” repeatedly, is fascinated by violent impulses deep within us that we can barely (neither then nor now) begin to fathom.
Undertaken a generation ago in London by Jude Law and Eve Best, the juvenile leads here fall on the barely tested shoulders of Damien Molony and Sara Vickers. They acquit themselves very well indeed – sensuous, beautiful, and moving up the register of desperation with a finesse that bodes well for both. The world around them – exquisitely designed by Mike Britton, so that monumental sets glide on and off, as in a dream – suits the darkness, and the play’s black comedy, perfectly: this is an Italy of haunting vespers and revving Vespas.
With superb supporting performances from, among others, Rachel Lumberg as the saucily frank maid Putana, from Sally Dexter as a wronged widow, memorably crooning “Anyone Who Had a Heart”, and Michael Matus as the most twittish of Annabella’s hopeless suitors, the evening gives you a masterclass in what regional theatre can achieve at its best.
Dear UJ, Until I succeed at time travel rentaghosting, and can pass that skill on to others, please allow me to share these brief but glorious glimpses (just in case you have not seen them before) of Damien in 'Tis Pity She's A Whore with the sincere hope that they do not titillate further...