Scan barcode
corrie's review
3.0
Bedlam is an actual play (played at the Globe in 2010) about the notorious Bedlam asylum set in the 18th century. There is a lot of singing, drinking and carousing going on. Cold baths, bleeding and laxatives seems to be the common treatment for the poor mad and the public can come and gawk at them for a penny.
“Leyshon has also come up with a satisfying narrative, in which a sailor seeks the beautiful girl who has gone mad in his absence, a rakish poet who has driven another woman into Bedlam receives a deserved comeuppance, and the drunken bully in charge of the hospital finds himself confronted by a decent new governor of reforming zeal. Jessica Swale directs a lively production, with a host of winning performances and a terrific selection of popular songs from the period, including one spectacularly filthy ditty that reaches a truly riotous climax.” - Charles Spencer, Telegraph
I think Phyllis the gin seller is the star of the play.
PHYLLIS: Gin. Get your gin. Kill-grief. Heart’s ease. Kick in the guts. Strip me naked. Drunk for one penny. Dead drunk for two penny. Clean straw for nothing.
Reading a play is a bit odd because it is much more sparse than a novel. I would love to see it performed live at the theater though.
3 stars
“Leyshon has also come up with a satisfying narrative, in which a sailor seeks the beautiful girl who has gone mad in his absence, a rakish poet who has driven another woman into Bedlam receives a deserved comeuppance, and the drunken bully in charge of the hospital finds himself confronted by a decent new governor of reforming zeal. Jessica Swale directs a lively production, with a host of winning performances and a terrific selection of popular songs from the period, including one spectacularly filthy ditty that reaches a truly riotous climax.” - Charles Spencer, Telegraph
I think Phyllis the gin seller is the star of the play.
PHYLLIS: Gin. Get your gin. Kill-grief. Heart’s ease. Kick in the guts. Strip me naked. Drunk for one penny. Dead drunk for two penny. Clean straw for nothing.
Reading a play is a bit odd because it is much more sparse than a novel. I would love to see it performed live at the theater though.
3 stars
More...