The Libertine by Stephen Jeffreys
Directed by Bob Callender
Performances: Tuesday 15th – Saturday 19th May 2007, Prompt Corner
About The Play
"Here in this theatre, we can pretend our lives have meaning. The truth is we are animals, scratching and rutting under an empty sky."
John Wilmot is Earl of Rochester at the court of King Charles II. Seeing only what is base and mean in mankind, he spends his life drinking, whoring and scandalising society with his satirical attacks on the court and the monarchy.
But when a new actress appears at the playhouse, the passion and honesty of her performance shakes his cynicism to its foundation, and makes him question the values he has lived by.
Written in the early 1990s as a touring companion piece to Etherege's "The Man of Mode", "The Libertine" dramatises a period from the life of the Earl of Rochester when he was falling in love with the actress Elizabeth Barry and in ever more conflict with the king over his satires on the court.
It's also a very theatrical piece - much of the action takes place in a theatre, and several of the characters speak directly to the audience from time to time.
Cast
Rochester - Rob Clother
Etherege - Matthew Davies
Sackville - Adam Bambrough
Downs - Siobhan Campbell
Harris - Steve Ellis
Alcock - Adam Crook
Charles - Chukwudi Onwere
Jane - Penny Allen
Barry - Liz Chambers
Malet - Juliet Holden
Luscombe - Fiona Daffern
Mrs Will - Alina Cooper
Vizard, Mrs Wade - Dee Fancett
Constable, Playgoer, Guard - Adrian Cross
Kedgeo, Bouncer, Pike - Dylan Hird
Huysmans, Punter, Staff - John Thompson
Crew
Director - Bob Callender
Assistant Director - Kat Moody
Stage Manager - Gavin Parker
ASM - Laura King
Sound - Andrew Rickinson
Musical Director - Helen Jones
Lighting Design / Dance - Anna York
For more details, please contact Bob Callender, Director
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