‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore

Written by John Ford
Performed in English
2011–2014

Before the play begins, Giovanni, son to Florio and a bright scholar, has returned from university accompanied by his tutor the Friar, to his home in Parma. Meanwhile, his sister Annabella has attracted the interest of a number of suitors; Florio is keen for his daughter to marry, and the nobleman Soranzo is his preferred choice for her husband. However, as the play opens one element remains to be brought to light: the nature of Giovanni’s feelings for his sister.

This vivid and violent Jacobean tragedy shows a brother and sister’s passionate descent into hell.

Incest, religion and corrupt morality collide in this ‘sexy, stylish production’ (The Times), making this play as shocking and controversial today as it was almost four hundred years ago.

Produced by Cheek by Jowl in a co-production with the Barbican, London, Les Gémeaux / Sceaux / Scène Nationale and Sydney Festival.

“A blazing, daring vision – a masterful evening.”
Le Figaro

Cast

2014

Name	Character
Eve Ponsonby	Annabella
Sam McArdle	Grimaldi
David Collings	Florio
Ruth Everett	Hippolita
Ryan Ellsworth	Donado
Jimmy Fairhurst	Gratiano
Orlando James	Giovanni
Raphael Sowole	Friar
Peter Moreton	Cardinal/Doctor
Nicola Sanderson	Putana
Maximilien Seweryn	Soranzo
Will Alexander	Vasques

2012–2013

Name	Character
Gina Bramhill	Annabella
Philip Cairns	Grimaldi
David Collings	Florio
Hedydd Dylan	Hippolita
Ryan Ellsworth	Donado
Jimmy Fairhurst	Gratiano
Orlando James	Giovanni
Jonathan Livingstone	Friar
Peter Moreton	Doctor/Cardinal
Nicola Sanderson	Putana
Gyuri Sarossy	Soranzo
Laurence Spellman	Vasques

2011–2012

Name	Character
Suzanne Burden	Hippolita
David Collings	Florio
Ryan Ellsworth	Donado
Jimmy Fairhurst	Gratiano
Jack Gordon	Giovanni
Nyasha Hatendi	Friar
Jack Hawkins	Soranzo
Lizzie Hopley	Putana
Peter Moreton	Cardinal/Doctor
David Mumeni	Grimaldi
Laurence Spellman	Vasques
Lydia Wilson	Annabella

Creative Team

2014

Role	Name
Director	Declan Donnellan
Designer	Nick Ormerod
Associate and Movement Director	Jane Gibson
Lighting	Judith Greenwood
Music/Sound	Nick Powell
Assistant Director	Paris Erotokritou
Casting Director	Siobhan Bracke
Costume Supervisor	Angie Burns
Company Manager	Tim Speechley
Technical Stage Manager	Robin Smith
Deputy Stage Manager	Clare Loxley
Lighting	David Salter
Sound	Morgan Rogers
Wardrobe Manager	Victoria Youngson
Assistant Stage Manager	Angela Garrick
Music Supervisor	Peter Moreton

2012–2013

Role	Name
Director	Declan Donnellan
Designer	Nick Ormerod
Associate and Movement Director	Jane Gibson
Lighting Designer	Judith Greenwood
Sound	Mark Cunningham
Co-Director	Owen Horsley
Company Stage Manager	Linsey Hall
Deputy Stage Manager	Clare Loxley
Lighting	David Salter
Composer and Sound Designer	Nick Powell

2011–2012

Role	Name
Director	Declan Donnellan
Designer	Nick Ormerod
Associate and Movement Director	Jane Gibson
Lighting Designer	Judith Greenwood
Music/Sound Design	Nick Powell
Associate Director	Owen Horsley
Casting Director	Siobhan Bracke
Voice Coach	Emma Woodvine
Fight Director	Jonathan Waller
Production Manager	Simon Bourne
Costume Supervisor	Angie Burns
Company Manager	Linsey Hall
Technical Stage Manager	Dougie Wilson
Deputy Stage Manager	Clare Loxley
Lighting Associate	Kristina Hjelm
Sound Associate	Mark Cunningham
Production Photography	Manuel Harlan
Wardrobe Manager	Victoria Youngson
Assistant Stage Manager (Rehearsals, Paris)	Tilly Stokes
Assistant Stage Manager (Tour)	Rosina Webb
Stage Management placement	Angela Garrick

Previous Performances

Date	Location
28 February–2 March 2014	Taipei, National Chiang Kai–Shek Cultural Center, Taiwan
19–21 February 2014	Colchester, Mercury Theatre, UK
9–12 January 2013	Los Angeles, CAP UCLA, USA
18–22 December 2012	Athens, Onassis Cultural Center, Greece
7–10 December 2012	Nantes, Le Grand T, France
27 November–1 December 2012	Lyon, Théâtres des Célestins, France
21–22 November 2012	Katowice, Teatr Slaski, Poland
15–17 November 2012	Luxembourg, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Luxembourg
6–10 November 2012	Nottingham, Theatre Royal, UK
24 October–3 November 2012	Bristol, Old Vic, UK
11–21 April 2012	Madrid, Las Naves del Español, Matadero, Spain
20–31 March 2012	New York City, BAM, USA
16 February–10 March 2012	London, Barbican, UK
7–11 February 2012	Oxford, Oxford Playhouse, UK
1–4 February 2012	Coventry, Warwick Arts Centre, UK
26–28 January 2012	Cambridge, Cambridge Arts Theatre, UK
17–21 January 2012	Sydney, Sydney Theatre, Australia
30 November–18 December 2011	Sceaux, Les Gémeaux, Paris, France

Reviews

UK

“Darkly funny, superbly visceral and poignant… electrifying”
Independent on Sunday

“One of the finest and most bitterly outrageous Jacobean productions you could hope to see… totally compelling.”
WhatsOnStage

“Sexy, stylish, a thrill to sit through.”
The Times

“Thrillingly intense and urgent.”
Evening Standard

“Diabolically witty and sexed up.”
The Independent

“Fleet-of-foot and fluid.”
The Telegraph

“Declan Donnellan’s thrilling Cheek by Jowl revival…a modern, gothic spin.”
Financial Times

“Donnellan and Ormerod’s sexy and unnerving new production…gruesomely, wildly alive.”
Time Out, Critic’s Choice

France

“Up-to-the-minute design, a blazing, daring vision – a masterful evening. 
Tragic, violent, scandalous, the play is a masterpiece. An absolute must-see. 
a stunning ensemble guided by Declan Donnellan’s masterful hand. 
the company grabs hold of the play with a vivid intensity.”
Le Figaro

“John Ford’s play, transposed from the Renaissance to the 3rd millennium by the British director Declan Donnellan, is a frenetic ballet-opera where damned lovers flirt with the apocalypse. The company, on stage throughout – celebrating, fighting or hiding in the shade like an army of demons – are impressive in their energy and virtuosity. Not every day does one get (and feel) such an Elizabethan hit.”
Les Echos

“It is masterfully organised in modern dress, in an ingenious design by Nick Ormerod…acted with an enviable, powerfully passionate edge.”
L’Humanité

Spain

“As on previous occasions, the cast of Cheek by Jowl are capable of rigorously respecting the text, adapting it to modern dress and situations, thereby making more poignant the validity and humanity of the emotions it narrates. In this case it plays with the myriad of unbridled passions whereby the splendid actors move, amuse and sadden the audience, crossing the stage with boundless energy, in control of every last detail, in a subtle and precise theatrical choreography, with an impressive physical presence, manipulating difficult texts with immense confidence and displaying musical skills and even circus tricks. Overwhelming.”
El Mundo

“The performance by Cheek by Jowl, presented last week at the Matadero after a very successful international tour, is, I believe, one of the best of its career.”
Babélia (El País supplement)

Australia

“Britain’s Cheek by Jowl condense John Ford’s still-potent Jacobean play into two hours of sensual, fluid and sometimes blackly comic drama…Declan Donnellan’s production blends the codified gestures of Elizabethan theatre with choreographed movement sequences (developed by Jane Gibson), painterly tableaux and 21st-century Tarantino-toned viciousness.”
Sydney Morning Herald