Tis Pity She's a Whore
'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a tragedyTragedyTragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that, paradoxically, offers its audience pleasure...
written by John FordJohn Ford (dramatist)John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
. It was likely first performed between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's MenQueen Henrietta's MenQueen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company or troupe of actors in Caroline era London. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men.-Beginnings:...
at the Cockpit TheatreCockpit TheatreThe Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located on Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was christened The Phoenix....
. The play was first published in 1633, in a quartoBook sizeThe size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf , or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
printed by Nicholas OkesNicholas OkesNicholas Okes was an English printer in London of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, remembered for printing works of English Renaissance drama...
for the bookseller Richard Collins. Ford dedicated the play to John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of PeterboroughJohn Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough-Life:He was the eldest son of Henry Mordaunt, 4th Baron Mordaunt, a Roman Catholic kept for a year in the Tower of London on suspicion of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot, who died in 1608. The widow, Lady Margaret, daughter of Henry, Lord Compton, also a Catholic, was deprived by James I of the...
and Baron of TurveyTurveyTurvey is a small English village, situated in Bedfordshire. It is about six miles west of Bedford on the River Great Ouse. It lies on the A428 between Bedford and Northampton, close to the border with Buckinghamshire.- History :...
.
The play was revived early in the RestorationEnglish RestorationThe English Restoration, often shortened to the Restoration, began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Commonwealth of England that followed the English Civil War...
era: Samuel PepysSamuel PepysSamuel Pepys, FRS was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for his diary. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration, to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II...
saw a 1661 performance at the Salisbury Court TheatreSalisbury Court TheatreThe Salisbury Court Theatre was a theatre in 17th-century London. It was located in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Court, which was formerly the London residence of the Bishops of Salisbury. Salibury Court was acquired by Richard Sackville in 1564; when Thomas Sackville was created Earl of...
. In 1894 The play was translated into French by Maurice MaeterlinckMaurice MaeterlinckMaurice Polydore Marie Bernard, Count Maeterlinck was a Belgian playwright, poet and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
under the name of Annabella, and produced at the Théâtre de l'Œuvre.
Controversy
The play's treatment of the subject of incestIncestIncest is any sexual activity between close relatives irrespective of the ages of the participants and irrespective of their consent, that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo...
made it one of the most controversial works in English literature. The play was entirely omitted from an 1831 collected edition of Ford's plays; its title has often been changed to something euphemistic such as Giovanni and Annabella or Tis Pity or The Brother and Sister. Until well into the twentieth century, critics were usually harsh in their condemnations. The subject matter offended them, as did Ford's failure to condemn his protagonist. "Instead of stressing the villainy, Ford portrays Giovanni as a talented, virtuous, and noble man who is overcome by a tumultuous passion that brings about his destruction." Since the mid-twentieth century, scholars and critics have shown more tolerance, understanding, and appreciation of the complexities and ambiguities of the work. In 1961 Luchino ViscontiLuchino ViscontiLuchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director and writer, best known for films such as The Leopard and Death in Venice . He died in Rome of a stroke at the age of 69...
directed a French adaptation (Dommage qu'elle soit une p…) at the Théâtre de Paris with Romy SchneiderRomy SchneiderRomy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.- Early life :Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her...
(Annabella) and Alain DelonAlain DelonAlain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a César Award-winning French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 he was garnering comparisons to famed French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
(Giovanni).
Characters
•Men
?Friar Bonaventura — A Friar and Giovanni's mentor
?A Cardinal — NuncioNuncioNuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church....
to the Pope
?Soranzo — A Nobleman (Annabella's suitor and eventual husband)
?Florio — A citizen of Parma, and father of Annabella and Giovanni
?Donado — A citizen of Parma, and uncle of Bergetto
?Grimaldi — A Roman Gentleman (Annabella's suitor)
?Giovanni — Son of Florio (his name is pronounced with four syllables)
?Bergetto — Nephew of Donado (Annabella's suitor and then Philotis's fiance/suitor)
?Richardetto — Hippolita's husband, disguised as a physician, also Philotis' uncle
?Vasques — Loyal servant to Soranzo
?Poggio — Servant to Bergetto
?Banditti — Outlaws, a criminal mob
?Officers
•Women
?Annabella — Daughter of Florio
?Hippolita — Wife of Richardetto (Soranzo's former paramour)
?Philotis — Niece of Richardetto (becomes Bergetto's fiance)
?Putana — Tutoress of Annabella
1999 'Tis Pity She's a Whore Giovanni David Lan John Ford Young Vic Theatre The Young Vic is a theatre in The Cut, located near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth deriving it's from the nearby Old Vic, one of the most celebrated of London's theatres and the first home of the National Theatre.It specialises in giving opportunities to young actors and directors. Its philosophy is to "produce great plays for great audiences, now and in the future"
Law was in this production in 1999 and also in the BBC3 presentation in 2001.
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