Nell Gwynn (play)

Nell Gwynn is a play by the British playwright Jessica Swale, begun in 2013 and premiering at Shakespeare's Globe from 19 September to 17 October 2015. It deals with the life of Nell Gwynn, mistress of Charles II, and her part in the theatre of the 17th century. On July 3, 2015 it was announced that actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw would play the title role in the production debut.

Plot

Hearing Nell Gwynn heckle at the playhouse, Charles Hart decides to train her as an actress, just before women are first allowed on the London stage - the pair also become lovers. When Charles II grants permission for women to act, Nell joins Hart in the King's Company. Her admission to the Company is backed by its writer John Dryden, director Thomas Killigrew and most of the actors except Edward Kynaston, who had previously played the company's female parts. Charles II continues his affair with Lady Castlemaine even after a confrontation with his queen Catherine. Soon afterwards Charles sees Nell onstage and falls in love. He comes backstage afterwards and the pair begin an affair, which eventually leads to a rupture between her and Hart.

Nell also faces threats from Lady Castlemaine and from Charles' chief minister Arlington to attempt to get her to give up Charles or to choose between him and the theatre. These culminate in a violent attack on Nell's sister Rose, instigated by Arlington. Instead of giving Charles up, Nell instead moves into apartments provided by Charles, where she is visited by Rose and their mother Ma Gwynn. Nell also starts attending fewer and fewer rehearsals, leading to tensions with the Company. A French diplomatic party arrives and Arlington orchestrates Charles into taking Louise de Keroualle as his mistress. Charles and de Keroualle attend the theatre and Nell publicly pokes fun at de Keroualle.

Rose visits Nell at court alone to announce Ma's death and berate Nell for not visiting them. On Nell's advice Charles dissolves the Exclusion Bill Parliament, including Arlington, on whom Nell takes her revenge by making him the royal dog-walker. Nell and Charles live together happily, but Charles suffers an apoplectic fit whilst they are playing croquet, dying soon afterwards. Nell is excluded from his deathbed and soon afterwards decides to return to King's Company full-time, reconcile with Hart and appear in Dryden's Tyrannick Love. As she is out of practice, she graciously gives over the lead role to Kynaston, but insists on speaking a self-penned epilogue, which closes both Dryden's and Swale's play.

Premiere cast

• Graham Butler as John Dryden
• Greg Haiste as Edward Kynaston
• Angus Imrie as Ned Spiggett
• Richard Katz as Killigrew
• Amanda Lawrence as Nancy
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw / as Nell Gwynn
• David Rintoul as Arlington
• Anneika Rose as Rose Gwynn
• David Sturzaker as King Charles II
• Jay Taylor as Charles Hart
• Sasha Waddell as Lady Castlemaine / Louise de Keroualle
• Sarah Woodward as Ma Gwynn / Queen Catharine

Production

Playwright Jessica Swale and star Gugu Mbatha-Raw were long-term friends before making the play. The play courted some controversy over the fact that Mbatha-Raw, who is a black woman, was cast to play Nell Gwyn a white historical figure. Playwright Swale defended the choice saying "It’s sort of frustrating that the question comes up, but I think it’s really important to say that it’s not a factor." Mbatha-Raw expressed frustration with the issue of her race being raised saying "I’ve played Juliet and she’s supposed to be Italian, and I’m not Italian, and I’ve played Ophelia and she was in theory Danish. I think with theatre hopefully if you have the essence of a person it doesn’t matter so much what you look like." Mbatha-Raw was nominated for Best Actress at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for 2015 for the role. The play transferred to the Apollo Theatre, where it played from 4 February to 30 April 2016, with the lead role taken over by Gemma Arterton.