Read Not Dead - The Fancies Chaste and Noble

Work:: Read Not Dead (S032483047)

Read Not Dead was launched in 1995 and brings actors, audiences and scholars together to explore and celebrate the plays performed in London and on its stages before 1642. The ground-rules are simple. Actors are given a script on a Sunday morning and work with a director to get the play up on its feet - with entrances and exits, token costume and music if needed. They present it, script in hand, to an audience at 16:00. These are not intended to be polished productions. However, there is a shared spirit of adventure and excitement for actors and audiences who sense that they might be uncovering a hidden gem.

Listing:: L853242438

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The Fancies Chaste and Noble

Castamela, the sister of Livio, is persuaded to join the Bower of Fancies, an establishment for young women under the control of Octavio, the marquis of Siena. Livio is appalled: stories of prostitution, lesbianism and sexual extravagance convince the outside world that Octavio is running a sort of harem. But as Octavio's nephew Troylo-Savelli reveals to Livio, the marquis is impotent: all the women within the Bower are safe from assault, and spend their time dancing and singing. Unconvinced, Livio extracts his sister and attempts to marry her to the poor but respectable Romanello. But Castamela's reputation has preceded her, and Romanello rejects her as a whore. Will Castamela ever find a husband after her sojourn in the Bower of Fancies? First performed by Queen Henrietta's Men in 1635-6, The Fancies Chaste and Noble is an entertaining drama of gossip, rumour and sexual double standards.