Review: Tis Pity She's A Whore at the Liverpool Everyman

(c) Sam Heath

To an 'anything goes' 21st century audience - familiar with the Jeremy Kyle Show - you might think the sex, gore and incest of 'Tis Pity She's A Whore' wouldn't evoke so much as a raised eyebrow let alone the shock it was received with in the 1600s.

But the Everyman Unbound production of John Ford's most famous play does exactly that.

Despite the enormous shift in what society deems acceptable today, incest remains a taboo and seeing brother and sister, Isabella and Giovanni, in a sexual encounter strikes an uneasy chord with even the most liberal minded individual.

In the intimate surroundings of the Everyman theatre, the audience cannot help but be sucked into the drama; be it the confusion and angst of Isabella and Giovanni, (Matti Houghton and Hugh Skinner) as they explore their lust for one another, or the jealous and hate-filled revenge of Hippolita, played by Emily Pithon.

The juxtaposition of Ford's 17th Century prose, spoken in dialectic English, against a 1930s backdrop has the potential to lose the identity of the play and confuse the theatregoer but instead it serves to make the characters more endearing.

There was something distinctly enjoyable about watching Friar Bonaventure, played by Kevin Harvey, counsel his young student with a strong Scouse accent. Likewise, the torment of Eileen O'Brien's ill-fated Putana is humorously balanced by her Northern sauciness and wit.

With a strong cast, under the passionate direction of Chris Meads, this modern take on 'Tis Pity' perfectly reflects the Everyman's current transition from the old to the new. Catch it before it's gone.

8/10

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