Nell Gwynn

By Jessica Swale.

Winner of the 2016 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.
A RAODS Production.

They've disgraced our trade. Ruined our art. They've put a woman on the stage!

Oyster-seller, orange-hawker, prostitute, celebrated actress and mistress to King Charles II, Nell Gwynn was nothing if not versatile. And as this superbly funny new play also demonstrates, while zig-zagging between the ego-fuelled rehearsal rooms of Drury Lane and the intrigue-soaked corridors of Charles II’s beleaguered court, her outspoken nature and fearless resolve to give as good as any man made her something of a Restoration-era feminist.

With plenty of modern-day jibes at austerity politics and the dearth of female playwrights, this is both boisterous entertainment and an apt homage to a woman who was incredibly ahead of her time.