10 Mar 2016
Around 350 years ago actresses were first allowed on English stages, but today there's still gender inequality in the theatre. Playwright Jessica Swale shares what we can learn from the story of 17th century actress Nell Gywnn.
As a strong female character is Nell important as a historical figure?
Nell is a character who is absolutely worth celebrating. She's often been rather misrepresented as the 'tart with the heart'; she's features in various films and plays but often in a supporting role, so I wanted to put her back in the limelight. She is worth celebrating both for her prowess as an actress and her role in bridging the class divide at the time. Who else has had such a rise to fame, from the dirty brothel of Coal Yard Alley to the Royal Palace? It's all too easy to dismiss her as a bawdy floozy, but in order to be such a successful comedic actress, she must have been immensely intelligent. She was a wit, and that alone is enough reason to celebrate her. It's a far greater accolade than praising her for who she ended up in bed with.
Is there anything in her story which still has relevance today?
Her story has enormous resonance. In terms of class, she was a working class girl trying to make it in a middle class industry, before moving into an exclusive aristocratic institution. You only have to glance at the papers to see the debate about Etonians in Hollywood and the struggle to find equality and diversity in theatre. She represents the underdog in so many ways, which is partly why she's so loved. Plus, as one of the first women on stage, I imagine Nell insisted on decent parts for the ladies. She was often outspoken and I'm certain she would have made sure her part was as funny and as engaging as the men she was playing opposite. It's something we need to continue to do today, as there's a distinct lack of complex female roles in both film and on stage.
Also, Nell's story characterises the debate on the difficulty of women's choices and the hardship of trying to juggle work and home life. Nell probably had to choose between her personal life and her profession. I'm in my early thirties and have witnesses first hand the tremendous pressure on women to simultaneously be great mothers and great professionals. Can I have a family and keep working? Nell asked just that question, as many of us do now. She, as we do, face tough choices. Can you do everything?
The role of an actress has changed a lot since the 17th century – do any similarities exist and what problems remain?
In the play, Nell's offered the part of Lady Godiva, which, she is mortified to find, requires her to go on naked. I know countless actresses who've been faced with similar propositions. We don't have to look very far to notice the disparity between the focus on women's bodies and men's in film, tv and theatre. Women are expected to look young, look great, look slim and often look naked. Women are still, more often than not, the object. The parts offered to women are most often the love interests or the mumsy character, rarely anything in between. So in some ways we haven't progressed very far. But on the other hand, women have a voice, increasingly, and that's something I think Nell would have been very happy about. Things are changing, albeit slowly.
What have your experiences been as a female playwright?
I'd love to know if a man has ever been asked the equivalent question. My guess is they haven't. We are in the minority and I look forward to the day when I'm no longer asked that question. In one sense, as I writer I hope my gender is irrelevant because, when you write, you take on other people's roles and leave yourself behind. My job is to think myself into someone else's shoes, be they seventeenth century orange seller or one time King of England. I hope I can do both equally well. But in another sense, being female is enormously important to me as a writer.
As a playwright I have the privilege of being allowed to speak; I have a voice, sharing ideas and perspectives, and those are intricately tied up in who I am and my own experiences. For that reason it's vital that playwrights come from every background, every class, every gender. Sharing stories gives us opportunities to understand each other, so the more diverse the voices, the better. Writing is an odd contradiction in a sense, it allows you to get to know yourself and express yourself in an incredibly personal, searching, intimate way, sharing the recesses of your thoughts and ideas in public, yet it also allows you to escape completely and become anyone other than you. It's an adventure- not an easy one- but it's hugely rewarding.
To learn more about Nell's life and Stuart London visit Samuel Pepys: Plague, Fire, Revolution
Jessica's Olivier nominated play has now moved to the West End, find out more