Captioned Performances:  Saturday, 21 January 2012 at BOTH 2pm and 8pm

Presented by Sydney Festival in association with Sydney Theatre

Cheek by Jowl (UK)
Australian Premiere

‘Cheek by Jowl brings fresh life to the classics using intense, vivid performances like a laser of light to set the text ablaze.‘ The Guardian

‘A deliciously excessive gory glory.’ The Sunday Telegraph on The Changeling (2006)

Written by John Ford
Directed by Declan Donnellan
Designed by Nick Ormerod

Following legendary productions of The Changeling and The Duchess of Malfi, Cheek By Jowl, one of the world’s great theatre companies, returns to Jacobean tragedy with a new production of John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. In this violent and bloody drama, we watch a brother and sister’s passionate descent into hell. Incest, morality, religion and corruption intertwine to make this play as shocking and controversial as it was almost 400 years ago.

‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore is the vision of Britain’s renowned artistic team, director Declan Donnellan and designer Nick Ormerod. Sydney audiences will remember their compelling production of Othello (Sydney Theatre Company 2004) and their all-male Russian version of Twelfth Night (Sydney Festival 2006).

Known for an intense yet informal rapport between actors and audience, Cheek by Jowl have toured to more than 40 countries with their thrilling versions of European classics.

Now, direct from its Paris premiere, they bring us ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, set in a not unfamiliar world of lust, vengeance and greed.

Declan Donnellan (Director) appears as part of our free talks program Microscope: Festival Artists in conversation with Caroline Baum

Produced by Cheek by Jowl in association with The Barbican (London), Les Gemeaux/Sceaux/Scène Nationale and Sydney Festival

This production is suitable for 16+.