Having found out the name of our piece and read through the script, we have been given our characters. I will play Mrs. Farley from pages 180 to 190 and pages 203 to 213. Although not character I would have automatically pegged for myself I am really pleased. In the first scene I am a silly girl, so vain and proud of herself for bedding the King, showing off my fancy petticoats and bragging about my adventures. However by page 203 I am reduced to a scared wreck. Mrs. Farley has become pregnant with the Kings child and been cast off by her lover. Due to laws on adultery and sex before marriage, she is kicked out of the company and realises that her only real options from this point are either prostitution or death. I love the contrast, and the fall from grace. She is incredibly different from me and will be quite a stretch for me to act, however I share several qualities with her: my pride and my ambition for one thing, however I go slightly different ways about getting to the top than her!
What I love about Playhouse creatures is that all of the characters are based upon real women and events. Elizabeth Farley was a real actress who worked with Nell Gwyn. In real life her name was "Mrs Weaver" on cast lists, however she never married anyone by that name. She was ousted form the theatre company and sued multiple times, however remained an actress. I like that I can play such a tragic role, and yet there is still a glimmer of hope on the horizon even though it is unwritten in the play, and the character herself doesn't realise it yet.
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