Tis Pity She's A Whore

"That was like watching someone kill a puppy!" My friend commented from beside me at intermission.

Tis Pity She's a Whore is a dark, disturbing drama about incest between siblings, revenge, love, and blood. I don't want to give anything away, because it is not often that you approach a play without any foreknowledge. Tis Pity is by John Ford, one of Shakespeare's successors, and it's quite a ride. I'd seen it once before, but I was happy to see it again. As I learned at the talkback with the actors afterwards, they have not had many opportunities to perform it. They estimate they have done 80 Midsummers while on tour, and 8 Tis Pity's.

This time I got a seat in the Lord's Chairs, right on top of the action. It was a nice change of pace, but I was disappointed that the house was not nearly as full as for Midsummer... again, I do not know if people were just scared away by the topic or kept away because it wasn't "Shakespeare".

The entire troupe did a really lovely job, from the choice of a modern/steampunk costume, to the character choices. Stephanie Holliday Earl no longer dropped the volume on her lines (which makes me wonder if she was only sick yesterday), and Patrick Earl and Denice Mahler made a sickeningly believable couple. Eugene Douglas gave Vasquez a touch of almost Iago-like calm and manipulation, making a servant character much more interesting than might otherwise be.

I would highly recommend this show, not only because you will likely never have the opportunity to see it performed again in your lifetime, but because these actors perform with passion and vigor, making for a captivating two hours traffic of the stage.