Victory: Choices in Reaction
Victory: choices in reaction by Howard Barker
4th March – 4th April 2009
Co-Production with Arcola Theatre
(Associate Producer Evie Dawnay)
ROAST: ‘Mrs Bradshaw, the Government is in possession of your husband’s body’
BALL: ‘Oh, Brian is so poop official! We have the rat-gnawed, stinking thing you clutched in bed once. That is what we have.’
A raucous treat for the senses – Barker’s brutal, poetic, and gruesome Restoration tale of kings’ whores, bankers’ gold and a widow’s quest to salvage a life from the debris and chaos of England at war. Oh. And her husband’s body parts…
As she is forced to react in a world of shifting loyalty, trust, power, and money, she discovers that the court of Charles II is as dirty and dangerous as any battlefield.
“What kind of monarchy is this?” demands the king of his mistress, with his breeches round his ankles. Drawing parallels between the political deceptions of the 17th Century and those of today, Victory is a powerful and cutting edge play.
Cast (in order of appearance)
| Scrope | Karl Theobald |
| Boot | Leander Deeny |
| Shade | Emil Marwa |
| Wicker | Gemma Johnson |
| Darling | Chris Porter |
| Gaukroger | Simon Thorp |
| Bradshaw | Geraldine James |
| Roast | Tom Godwin |
| Ball | Matthew Kelly |
| McConochie | Leander Deeny |
| Cropper | Evie Dawnay |
| Charles Stuart | Nicholas Rowe |
| Nodd | Emil Marwa |
| Clegg | Tom Godwin |
| Hambro | Simon Thorp |
| Southwark | Karl Theobald |
| Cleveland | Gemma Johnson |
| Gloucestershire | Leander Deeny |
| Hampshire | Matthew Kelly |
| Ponting | Chris Porter |
| Devonshire | Evie Dawnay |
| Feak | Emil Marwa |
| Pyle | Gemma Johnson |
| Edgbaston | Simon Thorp |
| Bank Guard | Matthew Kelly |
| Mobberly | Tom Godwin |
| Parry | Leander Deeny |
| Undy | Chris Porter |
| Street | Karl Theobald |
| Moncrieff | Gemma Johnson |
| Gwynn | Evie Dawnay |
| Footman | Chris Porter |
| Beggar | Leander Deeny |
| Beggar | Tom Godwin |
| Milton | Chris Porter |
Creative Team
| Director | Amelia Nicholson |
| Set & Costume Design | Anna Bliss Scully |
| Lighting Design | David Holmes |
| Composer & Sound Design | Francoise Ogier |
| Movement Director | Tom Godwin |
| Assistant Director | Catherine Hooper |
| Costume Supervisor | Lucy Jane Martin |
| Wig & Make Up Mistress | Claire Quick |
| Dramaturge/Researcher | Bronwen Carr |
Production Team
| Technical Manager | Richard Williamson |
| Production Manager | Oliver Luff |
| Sound Engineer | Joe Tate |
| Stage Manager | Matt Hudson |
| Assistant Stage Manager | Naomi Jones, Jo Hinton |
| Student Design Placements | Fran Day, Yoko Doyama, Elizabeth Foottit, Sophie Lewis-Parry, Harriet Shillito, Rebecca Slade, Jaeyun Kim |
| Assistant Producer | Bethany Ann McDonald |
| Press Agent | Anne Mayer |
Reviews
‘Barker relishes writing about sex, money and power, and this drama is so meaty and juicy that it makes what currently passes as political playwriting seem bloodless and trivial. That is particularly so in a production as good as this one.’
The Guardian ****
‘The excellent cast clearly relish Barker’s brutally poetic (and frequently filthy) dialogue. Geraldine James gives an outstanding performance, Matthew Kelly is equally impressive.’
WhatsOnStage
‘Nicholson’s pungent production offers a grotesque yet horribly pertinent image of the state of the nation’
Time Out ****
‘The Cast is spot-on. Leading them is Geraldine James, who gives an extraordinarily brave, unflinching performance as Bradshaw with terrific support from Matthew Kelly.’
The Guardian ****
‘The ambitious Iceni fields a production of this dark, dangerous play that boasts a powerful, poignant performance from Geraldine James.’
Sunday Express ****
‘Add Scully’s luscious period costumes and multi-layered set to Nicholson’s breathtakingly adventurous direction and you have an evening which is gripping from dark and sinister beginning to painfully optimistic end.’
British Theatre Guide