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THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL RUN IN FOUR CENTURIES
THE WOMAN IN THE MOON by John Lyly AN ASTROLOGICAL SEX COMEDY Sept - Oct 2014 The Rose Playhouse, Bankside Mixing astrology, myth, magic and farce, Lyly sets his play in Utopia, and then boldly rewrites Genesis – here the supreme creator is female, Nature herself When four shepherds beg for a mate she breathes life into Pandora, the first woman. Jealous of her excellence, the Seven Planets take turns to revenge themselves on her as she is pursued by the four love-struck men, causing chaos This extraordinary dream play by England's first great playwright was performed before Queen Elizabeth I sometime in 1589-95 With its bewildered lovers suffering dizzying emotional transformations at the hands of unseen supernatural forces in a night-time woodland chase, it clearly inspired Shakespeare’s own Midsummer Night’s Dream They said . . .
"Hilarious, sexy and perhaps most surprisingly, cool"
"One of the most consistently funny casts I've seen" "Bella Heesom is scarily good" "Keira Duffy's powerfully erotic Venus" "The whole damn human condition as a sexed-up, sweaty knot of misunderstandings propelled by hormones, libidos and jealousy, all gazed upon by a mischievous universe" London City Nights Full Review "Here's a word about The Woman in the Moon at the Rose. And the word is: goandseeitifyoucan"
Michael Caines, Times Literary Supplement Full Review "Bella Heesom gave an extraordinary performance of an extraordinary role"
"James Askill is one of the most consistently hysterical early modern actors I have ever seen" "James Thorne is stupendous" "Made their case for Lyly's potency in the contemporary theatre" Peter Kirwan, Bardathon Full Review "Impressively funny, intimate and refreshing"
"Puts Lyly centre stage, and deservedly so" A Younger Theatre Full Review "A fabulous production of an amazing play"
"Lyly’s poetic scheme anticipates our deeper Darwinian understanding" Atomies Full Review |
CAST Bella Heesom - Pandora, the Woman Julia Sandiford - Nature James Thorne - Gunophilus Joel Davey - Stesias Rhys Bevan - Learchus Robert Heard - Melos James Askill - Iphicles Llywelyn ab Eleri - Saturn Gareth Radcliffe - Jupiter Adam Cunis - Mars Timothy George - Sol Laurel Devenie / Keira Duffy - Venus Théo Kingshott - Mercury Lila Whelan - Luna / Concord Cindy-Jane Armbruster - Juno / Discord Directed and Designed by James Wallace Lighting Design David Meunier-Palmer at Fringehire Stage Manager and Assistant Producer Alex Pearson 
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