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Nan

Orange Tree Theatre, Outer London
From: Wednesday, 2nd May 2007
To: Saturday, 2 June 2007

Our Review: starstarstar Your Reviews: starstarstarstar

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Synopsis

Nan/I> is a world away from the usual conception of Edwardian drama. It is set in 1810 on a small tenant farm in a village by the river Severn, where Nan lives with her uncle and his wife. Nan's father has been hanged for stealing a sheep, but tonight there is to be a party where there will be dancing to the violin of Gaffer Pearce, and the possibility of life is in the air.

Our Review: starstarstar

8 May 2007

An everyday tragic tale of country folk, early 18th century style, is the stuff of John Masefield’s forgotten 1908 play, lovingly revived as part of the Orange Tree’s ongoing, revelatory “Shaw and his Contemporaries” season in a brief version of the full title, The Tragedy of Nan.

The whole atmosphere of the play is totally unexpected, suggesting that Masefield’s play is a missing link between Arden of Feversham and D H Lawrence’s A Collier’s Friday Night. Yeats even told Synge that Nan was the best English play since the Elizabethans. Shaw admired the play, too, which was first directed by Harley Granville Barker for his wife, Lillah McCarthy, whose performance as Nan was one of her signature roles. The play was often revived, but has not been seen since 1943.

Auriol Smith’s efficient production makes you wonder why on earth not. The setting is a small tenant farm in a village on the river Severn,...

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Latest User Review

Backdrifter - 10 May 2007: starstarstarstar

The Orange Tree yet again buffs up a forgotten gem in its excellent Shaw season. Katie McGuiness in particular turns in a wonderful peformance early in her career and deserves great things and recognition. But everyone's good in this - one of the characters is so evil I came the closest I've ever felt to openly booing and hissing. Get along to Richmond and see this tense, gripping, beautifully acted tale of injustice as soon as you can. ...

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