In 18th century London, Mrs. Tull struggles to make ends meet running a frock-hire business, with her main clients being the prostitutes of Great Britain. Upon the sudden death of her husband, she stumbles upon a plan to open a whorehouse, where men come to get pleasured by men.
Director Louise Fischer has assembled a fine cast, all performing with a sense of truth in some of their larger than life characters. Deborah Jones is perfect and nuanced as Mother Clap. Accents highlight the nature of lower class London, some actors performing them better than others. There are plenty of laughs, hitting many ‘low comedy’ notes, matched beautifully with performances by Steve Corner as Princess Serafina: a very realistic cross-dresser, along with Chantel Leseberg’s naive yet raunchy Amy.
Flashbacks are to a more contemporary time in England, highlighting sex and fetishes. The transitions are done well, with effective lighting design to make sure these are as simple as possible. Both stories highlight the issues of sexuality, as relevant today as they were two centuries ago.
Performances are energetic, Garth Saville and Debra Bryan being standouts. However, Bethany Sheehan’s excellent set design, large flats creating silhouettes, is greatly underutilised.
New Theatre to 7 Mar
