Linck & Mülhahn

Product Information

Extremely funny imagining of a queer relationship from the 1700s, inspired by historical court transcripts. The final act is set in a courtroom with an affronted and pompous male judiciary determined to punish the couple. Anastasius, charged with sodomy and desertion, faces execution. With casting now more diverse, foregrounding lived experience of a role, Bain said: "It's important to push people with the relevant experience to the forefront of their own stories so we can look at how we have been telling them, and what we can learn from those people themselves. There are echoes of the marriage comedies of Jane Austen and Shakespeare, as Catharina’s widowed mother tries in vain to pair her off with a dunderhead with 15 acres, while her only daughter secretly explores the erotics of verbal sparring over bails of linen with the handsome young shopkeeper she once spied through a window, before he was forced to desert the army to escape physical examination. Bain feels "hopeful" at increasingly open discussion around gender, especially among younger generations: "It comes down to making a little bit of space for a few people - there isn't an army of LGBT people coming for you!," says Bain, referencing recent Census figures on gender identity.

But he urged members of the community to come forward with evidence they feel could be vital in helping secure convictions. The play is well written and, although it takes a few scenes to settle into its rhythm, the modern dialogue and youthful characterisation of the story emphasise the relevance of this story in today’s society. Funny from the outset, the triviality and humour is equally balanced with moments of true emotion and poignant reflection of hardships and suffering.While the framing narrative device feels slightly too much in moments, and the second half is of course not quite as sparkly as the first, this is a truly moving theatre experience that cannot fail to entertain and move audiences. We never veer into any kind of cringe either, thanks to such effective writing and performances. For me personally, having been in a relationship not unlike the one depicted here, the value of seeing an element of my life reflected on stage cannot be overstated. Ruby Thomas’ epic and playful modern love story takes eighteenth century court records as its starting point and explores the extraordinary true life of this gender pioneer. It follows Ruby Thomas’ two sold-out plays for Hampstead Downstairs: The Animal Kingdom ('pure theatre’ – The Guardian) and Either (‘marks Ruby Thomas out as a daring and exciting new voice’ – The Arts Desk). Crucially, three actors – barely adapting Katrina Lindsay’s sober costumes – become a myriad characters, multigenerational, epoch-leaping, gender-defying. Michael Balogun, Hadley Fraser and Nigel Lindsay morph as ingeniously as the first cast. They are the three Bavarian brothers and they are their American descendants. With a bend of waist and wrist, a simper or a glare (this is a man-oriented show) they become their wives; with a whimper or treble voice they turn into their children; a dying man transforms into the doctor who tends him. In an informative session with Deputies, Price also confirmed that worryingly the biggest increase in racist, and antisemitic activity was amongst the far-right online. I've had agents put pressure on me to grow my hair or look a certain way. I've been up for parts that on paper I thought 'this is me,' but what they actually wanted was someone prepared to cut their hair short, or wear fatigues. Auditions like that were soul destroying.

They live in a garret and Anastasius encourages their beloved Catty to write. Despite their modest means, it’s a joyous marriage and both feel liberated for the first time. Nor has she paused to ponder if remaking past truths is the fuel that drives Holocaust denial and Stop the Steal “new truths”. It is a shame because other than the dead weight of this on-the-nose messaging Thomas writes with a light touch and shows a talent for comedy too. Price was also keen to stress that the CPS worked extremely closely with the community on crime issues, and had a good understanding of the issues at stake, with the help of Jewish prosecutors. If anything, The Lehman Trilogy has become weightier, more threatening since it was first staged in 2018. The original wonder of Sam Mendes’s production of Stefano Massini’s play, adapted by Ben Power, was the incisive economy with which the history of American capitalism was charted through the fortunes of one Jewish family. That holds true in this revival. We couldn’t prove to the criminal standard that the people in the cars are the people that were issuing antisemitic comments.

To continue reading, we just need a few details...

Directed by Owen Horsley, the play’s creative team also includes Simon Wells (design), Matt Daw (lighting), Max Pappenheim (sound), Dewi Johnson (assistant direction), Rachel Bown-Williams (fight and intimacy direction) and Ruth Cooper Brown (fight and intimacy direction). He also said there was evidence that 13 and 14 year-old were amongst those being increasingly drawn into far-right activity internationally. After a year at drama school, Bain has worked consistently, although before landing "the most wonderful supportive agent" it could be isolating.

In May 2021 group of men drove 200 miles from Bradford to taunt the community from within a convoy of cars yelling ‘F*** the Jews… F*** all of them. F*** their mothers, f*** their daughters.’ The casting of Alex Kingston as Prospero more interestingly switches the emphasis of the plot, towards layers of affection and subjection. This is not a feminist first – Vanessa Redgrave took the role at the Globe more than 20 years ago – but it has a far-reaching effect. Kingston, who draws the audience to her with fervour, is a no-nonsense maternal figure, pulsing with warmth: it is the only time I have seen Prospero torn with sorrow when Ariel flies off. What is more, the most moral of the courtiers is also played by a woman. All fine, this, save that it results in a sentimental goody-baddy split on gender lines. Is a female Caliban impossible? She could still have had a violent go at Miranda. Owen Horsley directs at Hampstead Theatre for the first time; his credits for the RSC include the recent double bill of Rebellion and Wars of the Roses, as well as Maydays and Salomé. We have always existed, we are woven into the fabric of humanity, and it's important to factor in a non binary person's perspective. We are as full of love as anyone else. The one thing you can never have too much of is love. It should be celebrated in all of its forms." If the real Anastasius thought of herself as a gay woman who refused to be defined by man- made laws then that possibility has been denied her here. It is not the first time historical figures about whom little is known have been resurrected by a playwright only to be frog-marched into conforming to his, her or their politics.Responding to Reform Judaism deputy Andrew Gilbert’s suggestion the failure to prosecute males meant the community had been “let down” by the justice system, Price said:”Neither the CPS nor the police can create evidence. There are not many out non-binary actors my age, but it's glorious to see so many more coming up in the generation after. There's a part of me that wishes I'd had that community around me, but I am thrilled with how things are changing. I never thought we would get here."