Savagely satirised in Pope’s Dunciad, actor/dramatist/poet Colley Cibber was capable of vanity and rudeness appropriate only to the foppish characters he created and played.
But the contemporary accounts also tell us he treated fellow actors well, and his first play is still highly entertaining and packed with decent parts.
Reviving Love’s Last Shift more than 200 years after its last London performance, this production takes an historical approach.
Hazel Low’s costumes are at once of the period and stylish on a budget, while the continued relevance of infidelity and hypocrisy is mostly implicit and the more antiquated jokes are left to fend for themselves. But whether or not we get those, there are plenty more to enjoy.
Cibber wrote with the aim of giving himself a good part, and duly performed the outrageous fop Sir Novelty Fashion. Isaac Jones’ portrayal is camp as a pantomime dame and for audience and actors alike, other roles may be more to their taste.
Matthew Butler is one of two directors and also Younger Worthy, the sensible force behind much of the action.
His fellow director is Dominic Rouse, who as the servant Snap generates much of the comedy.
His master is Loveless (Ben Lee), loved to distraction by the spirited yet virtuous Amanda, played by Jennifer Masters with the wit and feeling Cibber allegedly lacked.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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