13 – 20 June

A boisterous slice of 17^th century history delivered with a feminist twist, this BOVTS production of Nell Gwynn is a delight from start to finish. Raised in a brothel, Nell started life as an illiterate fish-seller, but one possessed of considerable intelligence and natural talent, becoming one of the first women to act on the English stage. Recognising her as a significant pioneer in Restoration theatre, writer Jessica Swale was thus motivated by a determination to show that the woman described by Samuel Pepys as ‘pretty, witty Nell’ was not just the King’s mistress.

However this Nell Gwynn offers much more than straightforward biography. The play is a love-letter to theatre, self-referentially and very comically depicting the stressful and often chaotic business of putting on a show.  Rather fey and prone to panic, playwright John Dryden (Zain Ahmad) is seen constantly missing deadlines, suffering a bad attack of writer’s block and desperately filching plot ideas from anyone with half an idea. At one point he even appears to have anticipated the plot of Titanic – but dismisses it as far-fetched. He is forever offering the dubious assurance that his play is nearly finished, it is just ‘the words’ that need to be added.

Actors can be touchy creatures too. Edward Kynaston, (Alex James-Mason) a ‘boy player’ famed for his skill in female roles, responds rather negatively to the news that real women are being allowed to take to the stage. Cue flouncing petulance. Enter such a woman, Nell Gwynn, her role performed sequentially by four actors (Susannah Weidmann, Cosima Gardey, Lucy Jarvis-Chase, Leah Dawson). All of them perfectly capture Nell’s mix of low-born earthiness, native wit and seductive charm. It seems rather appropriate that such a multi-faceted creature should be embodied by four different performers, who chart her course from a Cheapside slum to the Royal Court via a glittering career on stage.

Chief among those Nell captivates is King Charles, (Jacob Benhayoun) who finds that the theatre offers a welcome escape from the tedious world of international alliances and local religious division. At court, life can be tiresome, not least because his Portuguese wife Queen Catherine, (Georgia Bishop) is less than thrilled to see his dalliances with mistresses, exploding in righteous but very comic rage. One of those mistresses is Louise de Kerouelle, (Lucy Minderides) deliciously and flirtatiously French, but combatively out-done by Nell regarding the size of their flamboyantly feathered headwear.

Nell Gwynn gradually shifts away from bawdiness to become a touching love story. When Charles first meets Nell there is more than a hint of Carry On-style innuendo: ‘Haven’t you seen my Florimel?’ she asks; he replies: ‘I’ve been waiting to see your Florimel for weeks.’ But later such suggestive badinage gives way to tender expressions of real devotion. Nell has become the mother of two of his sons, and at his death Charles’ final words are a plea that ‘poor Nellie’ should not be left to starve.

Nell Gwynn does not stay solemn for long, and matters are brought to a rousing conclusion with all the cast singing ‘I can dance, and I can sing, and I can do the other thing’, ending this rollicking play on a properly naughty note.

Directed by Emma Callander and Paloma Oakenfold, and designed by MA Performance Design students Lydia Durnall and Mette Rutter, Nell Gwynn features fourteen MFA Professional Acting students who all perform superbly, and with infectious gusto. Ultimately, this show is a celebration, not only of Nell Gwynn’s extraordinary life, but also of the joy of real live theatre. Bravo!

★★★★☆. Mike Whitton, 14 June 2026

Photographer credit: Ed Felton