After the death of her mother, Annabella is left to face adolescence alone. When her elder brother Giovanni returns home, he propels them both into a dangerous world of sexual transgression and youthful revolt. Together they crash through the boundaries of what can be said, what can be read, what to believe and who you can love.

First unleashed by John Ford in 1633, ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore is one of the most shocking and powerful theatre stories of all time. Shakespeare was writing during the reign of Elizabeth I when theatre was loved whereas Ford was writing fifty years later in the Jacobean period when many believed theatre was at best a sacrilegious waste of time and, at worst, heretical.

The play’s treatment of the subject of incest made it one of the most controversial works in English literature. Until well into the twentieth century, critics were usually harsh in their condemnations. The subject matter offended them, as did Ford’s failure to condemn his protagonist. Instead of stressing the villainy, Ford portrays Giovanni as a talented, virtuous, and noble man who is overcome by a tumultuous passion.

Jonathan Munby’s direction has not only imbued each character with vitality, colour and depth, it’s also provided a spectacle that is every bit as shocking and thought provoking as it surely was on the play’s original opening night nearly five centuries ago. Munby has set this production in Italy in the 1960s with buzzing motor scooters.

For me Sally Dexter as Hippolita was exceptional. I was also highly impressed with Michael Matus as Bergetto. Damian Malony and Sara Vickers as Giovanni and Anabella are well cast, and Rachel Lumberg is a tragi-comic delight as Anabella’s indulgent chaperone Putana.

Gory, yes, but this is still a brilliant production and one well worth seeing during its run at the Playhouse until May 28.