My interpretation of the play…
My first interpretation after reading the first few scenes of the play on a script was that it was a very strong play and had a deep meaning.
April De Angelis, seems to me to be slightly somewhat a feminist as the play revolves around women's lives in 1600's and portrays men to be rude, sexist and controlling. They are only three male parts in the play, as it is such a female heavy performance and depicts the lives of those who were struggling to become actresses at some of London's first ever theatres.
Nell Gywnn is featured in the play, who was at the time a notorious mistress of King Charles the 2nd.
She is portrayed as a confident and cunning female, as are all the women in this play. It is not what I expected, as women were so low status in the time the play was set, which was 1663, I imagined the women to be so dependent on men and not have any confidence to become actresses, which was such an inappropriate career choice for women back then, it seems very brave to have decided to go into the industry regardless of what society thought.
The women are all extremely witty and almost seem to not give a damn what people think. But they do appear to be needing men to give them a higher status and security, which was important for women in the 1600's, as it was quite a dangerous time for women.
As actresses, I feel they are seen more as prostitutes, as in the play in mentions that the men always ask them to do little "Extras" on the side after the shows, and they expose themselves to men throughout the play.
I am looking forward to exploring the play even further and to be cast as one of these characters, as they are all interesting and fearless women, and know exactly what they want and how to get it.
No comments:
Post a Comment