I Can Dance and I Can Sing, and I Can Do T'Other Thing

Last night, I decided to head along to Salford's Lowry to catch a play which I heard about through last year's Oliviers, as it won the Best New Comedy award. Set in Stewart England, the play follows the titular character Eleanor Gwynn, otherwise known as Nell Gywnn, an orange seller, who finds her way into am acting troupe, being one of the first ever female actors to work on stage, while also catching the eye of King Charles II. What follows is as close to a real-life Cinderella as there has ever been as Nell becomes Charles' "pretty witty Nell", and develops into a conflict with Nell's old life with the acting troupe and her new life as the King's mistress.
Written by Jessica Swale, the play made its debut at Shakespeare's Globe in 2015 starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, before transferring to the West End last year with Gemma Arterton taking on the title role, for which she was nominated for an Olivier.

Putting on our titular heroine's shoes on the touring production is Laura Pitt-Pulford, herself nominated for an Olivier Award last year for her performance at Regents Park Open Air Theatre's Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Her Nell brims over with life: hilarious, cheeky, sometimes crude but with a huge heart of gold too and a touching side. In ways, her character reminds me to Oliver!'s Nancy, a character Pitt-Pulford ironically played (taking over from Cat Simmons) in Leicester Curve's production, but with a slightly happier outcome.
Funnily enough, there is another Nancy in Nell Gwynn (proper cockney accent and all), her dresser to be exact, played by Mossie Smith, who had some brilliant moments, particularly near the end as she tried (tried being the key word here) to act and fill in Nell's place.
Another person I just HAVE to mention is Esh Alladi as Edward Kynaston, the actor in the troupe who has the pleasure of playing all the female parts - before Nell comes along that is. His character's flamboyances about "the backstory", and concerns about Nell taking over his job were hilarious - I mean it is impossible to take someone wearing a pair of "perfectly good linen tits, thank you very much" seriously..!

I have to mention the music in this (played superbly by Emily Baines, Arngeir Hauksson, Sharon Lindo and Nicholas Perry), which fits in perfectly, for a production like this. Featuring recorders and even a hurdy-gurdy, it sounds just like it came from the Tudor/Stewart period; during the ditties, or the finale, it is almost impossible to either get up and jig, or at least sway in your seat. The I Can Dance and I Can Sing ditty is guaranteed to be stuck in your head for a while afterwards.
Speaking of seats, this comes to the space inside the Lowry where the play was performed; this may seem odd, as I have been to the Lowry plenty of times - but always at the Lyric Theatre, never to the Quay Theatre, which is a much smaller space set to the left side of the building past the Pier Eight restaurant. It fits a story like Nell Gwynn perfectly, and also means wherever you sit is likely to boast an excellent view.

Nell Gywnn ends its Salford run tomorrow night, and then continue to tour around the country, before finishing up back at Shakespeare's Globe in London. If you fancy something with a well-crafted play with a touching heart and is anything but unafraid to make you keel over laughing at times for its crudeness, this might be one for you...!