Ska, sex, and unsuspecting parents; Article 19 delivered a powerful and gory closing performance to lead into the summer break.
‘Tis’ pity she’s a whore’ is widely regarded as one of the most controversial works in the history of English literature, its storyline gracing the sensitive and provocative topics of murder and incest. Article 19 boldly grasped these concepts with both bloodied hands, abolishing the 16th century Italy setting, opting instead for the gritty, working class 1980’s North of England. A wonderful combination of comedy, gore and an interweaving of some deeply chilling and downright shocking scenes ensured that the audience were repeatedly ripped between humour and horror, sometimes within the space of seconds.
Guild plays can occasionally pander to a tradition of modernising or contemporising performances, but giving no real indication during performance that anything has been changed. Tis’ Pity however, pulled off this shift in time period with style, laying out a spectacular array of double denim, bomber jackets and an entire playlist of ska and reggae lovingly compiled by director Maya Whatton. With all cast members maintaining a northern accent of some kind, the update of the setting worked very well.
The sensible selection of a Traverse stage allowed for an intimate atmosphere with all areas of the stage accessible to all members of the audience, integral to a play with so many high impact shock moments. Staging was kept to a minimum throughout – a crucifix on the wall, with a raised level to the far end of the stage doubling as both a dinner table and for most of the performance, Annabella’s bed.
Tis’ pity must now hold some form of Guild of Students record for bloodiest performance. An oft outspoken criticism of guild performances is that they lack in the theatrics and power of professional stage performances – a grievance the directors and producer were clearly aware of, with seemingly little expense spared on blood packs as a means of enhancing significantly the fight and murder scenes within the play. Testament to this was the notable shock on both director Maya Whatton and assistant director Phoebe Cresswell’s faces at the emergence of a thoroughly blood-soaked Giovanni (Connor Whitmore) in the closing scene of the final performance night.
As ever, the student performances proved to be of a high standard. Alice Hodgson fully owned the role of Annabella, turning her into a tortured and guilt racked soul from the off, with an outstanding performance from Connor Whitmore in the role of her brother – and sometime lover, the mentally unsound Giovanni. Ben Firth took the role of Soranzo, transforming him from an Italian prince into a truly terrifying northern thug, with Jack Alexander clinging loyally to his master’s side as the sly and devious Vasques. Special commendation must go to Euan Codrington and Ciaran Cresswell, whose bumbling and light-hearted portrayals of Florio and Donado were nothing short of exceptional. The pair would not have looked or acted out of place on a saga holiday, with both switching back and forth seamlessly between comedy and tragedy in striking style. Wonderfully entertaining comic relief was further provided by Joe Madley and Becky Hansell, whose innocent, childlike and carefree portrayals of Bergetto and Poggio made certain that the first act was nothing short of hilarious.
Directors Maya and Phoebe made certain to load their production with a number of exceptionally powerful scenes worthy of note, with one of the most impressive aspects of the play coming in its ability to switch between comedy and (often bloody) shock at devastating speed. Take for example, perhaps the key moment in the narrative where Vasques extracts the truth behind Annabella’s pregnancy from her confidante, Putana (Grace Hussey-Burd) via seduction. The bizarre use of a masked lover introduced into the scene by Vasques proved to be a greatly entertaining source of amusement for the audience, but no longer had we begun laughing at the absurdity of the scene than we were shocked into silence at the sight of the masked lover biting out Putana’s tongue in bloody fashion. A later scene saw the emergence of Soranzo, wire coat hanger in hand, evidently prepared to go to extremes to eliminate the unwanted pregnancy from his marriage – met with a cold, stunned silence from the audience, save a few sharp intakes of breath. Annabella’s confession of incest to the friar (Chavonne Brown) followed by a storming, fiery depiction of the hell which awaits her, complete with demons and satanic black angel wings allowed for the usage of a plethora of theatrical sights and sounds.
Ultimately, article 19 delivered one of the highest standard emotional roller-coasters I have seen in the guild – a piece which would not have looked out of place on a professional stage, combining a well-covered setting with a great soundtrack, some stunning performances and excellent direction and production all lead to a fabulous, emotionally shifting and entertaining end to the year.
Alfie Thompson
