‘a bawdy 17th C restoration romp with a smattering of 21st C feminism thrown in’
Director Bryony Shanahan brings Jessica Swale’s adaptation of her own original work to the stage in this co-production between Shakespeare North Playhouse, Theatre by the Lake, and Storyhouse to serve up a bawdy 17th C restoration romp with a smattering of 21st C feminism thrown in.
London 1660: the monarchy is restored and King Charles II Guy Woolf) is caught between the seriousness of Lord Darlington (Adam Clifford) and the shenanigans of his mistress Lady Castlemaine (Celia Cruwys-Finnigan) ) who is upsetting the Queen (Sufia Manya), when he all he wants is a little entertainment, and not just of the French kind in the form of Louise de Keroualle (Cruwys-Finnigan).
Theatre has also been restored and with women now finally allowed on stage, company director Thomas Killigrew (Clifford), playwright John Dryden (Jamie Ross), assistant Nancy (Manya), and actor Ned Spiggett (Burhan Kathawala) are having to come to terms with the new rules, whereas Charles Hart (Elliot Harper) is keen to see the company at the fore, much to the chagrin of Edward Kynaston (Stanton Wright) who up to now has played all the leading female roles.
These two worlds collide in the shape of fruit seller and woman about town, Nell Gwynn (Rose Shalloo), as she becomes a star of the stage as well as capturing the heart of a king, meaning she has more to juggle than just her oranges as she tries to hold things together with her sister (Cruwys-Finnigan) and mother (Manya). But can she keep a good thing spinning when politics and religion enter the stage?
Shakespeare North Playhouse presents both a challenge and opportunity with its in the round performance space, but I’m not convinced this production grasped either nettle fully, and given this is the start of the tour and it is also one of the co-producing companies, I was hoping for something more. The production at times certainly makes for a busy stage but thankfully Sundeep Saini’s choreography kept things moving, with quick costume changes facilitated by Bronya Arciszewska, as we segued between scenes.
Some scenes felt laboured and overly long with significant repetition, particularly in the opening half which at ninety minutes presents its own challenges which are not helped by the poorly designed and uncomfortable bench seating at the venue. Coming in at almost three hours including an interval, there is an opportunity to tighten up throughout and shave off at least thirty minutes without detracting from the overall storyline.
Jessica Curtis’ set and costume design was certainly befitting of the period whilst Mark Dustin Webster’s lighting design and Pete Malkin’s sound design both added to the drama at key moments with some distinction.
The cast perform strongly with many taking on ensemble roles, and there was a good demonstration of their musical skill with an array of original compositions from Candida Caldicot performed live under the lead of Ross.
There is always a risk when there has been a previous successful production of a play in trying to emulate that performance rather than portray the characters themselves, and it sadly felt much the case here with the titular role.
The theatre company ensemble scenes were played for laughs and, somewhat reminiscent of The Mechanicals, worked rather well. I particularly enjoyed Harper’s strong performance, whilst Cruwys-Finnigan impressed throughout in all three roles, with both demonstrating great stage presence.
Much comes down to the writing and there are perhaps too many similarities with Shakespeare in Love and Love Actually for my liking, followed by a cross with an episode of Eastenders: thankfully nobody is called Ricky. The bawdy humour provides its own distinct nod to Carry On, but even they remembered to shake it up – no pun intended – and not just focus on tit gags which we get far too many of here: quite often comic writing works best when delivered straight. All in all, it’s an entertaining evening but I can’t help but feel it could have been so much more.
Nell Gwynn plays at Shakespeare North Playhouse through to 4th July, with further details and booking at https://shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk/event/nell-gwynn/
From 9th July to 1st August, it will perform at Theatre by the Lake, further details and booking at https://www.theatrebythelake.com/event/nell-gwynn-keswick-lake-district-theatre/
From 21st August through to 6th September, it will perform as part of Storyhouse in the Park in Chester, further details and booking at https://www.storyhouse.com/whats-on/nell-gwynn-park/
Review Date: 16th June 2026
Star Rating: THREE