Preview: Fanny Hill, Bristol Old Vic

Bristol Old Vic’s stage adaptation of legendary erotic novel Fanny Hill majors on its heroine’s journey of empowerment. Cast member and TV star Gwyneth Keyworth talks about the book’s incendiary – and inspiring – content.

“It’s very sexy. But it’s not a direct adaptation of the novel. We turn the story on its head, highlighting the woman’s perspective,” says the Welsh actress (pictured above left), hitherto best known for her telly roles in Misfits and The Great Outdoors. Now, though, Gywneth is taking on an altogether different challenge.

As Bristol24/7 speaks to her, she’s knee-deep (or elbow deep – but more of that shortly) in rehearsals of Bristol Old Vic’s stage production of Fanny Hill, John Cleland’s legendarily explicit 1748 novel about a young girl who leaves her small Lancashire village to seek her fortune in the capital – but who finds herself working as a prostitute in the household of a well-known madam.

The novel’s best known for its unabashedly explicit erotic content (it has been labelled “the first original English prose pornography” and has been one of the most banned books in literary history): but BOV’s stage adaptation, written by playwright April de Angelis, focuses as much (as does the book, in truth) on Fanny’s journey from innocence, through bewilderment and exploitation to control over her own destiny.

“It’s still a very funny story, but it’s empowering and moving without being sentimental,” Gwyneth continues. “Fanny has a pretty tough time of it initially, and being a prostitute you expect there to be quite a lot of shit that goes down. But also, because she’s living on the edge of life, there are times when she relishes it, and how freeing it can be.”

De Angelis’ adaptation uses movement to suggest much of the erotic action – making for a performance style that is, Gwyneth explains, “more suggestive than explicit – though it is explicit at times, showing how grotesque the act can be for Fanny. We’ve just been rehearsing the moment when young Fanny loses the love of her life – but is told that she has to get back on the game or she’s not going to be able to keep a roof over her head. For that moment, rather than using movement, we want to see the truth of it, so we have her lying down, blank-faced, while someone is doing the act to her.”

Rehearsals must be a demanding process, with no room for shyness or physical inhibition. “Karla [Shacklock, the show’s Bristol-based Movement Director] has set us up with a range of devised games, including the Morning Orgy. You just close your eyes and explore each other’s bodies. You get used to the fact that you’ve got someone’s arse on your elbow.”

De Angelis has adapted the action to have the older Fanny (played by Caroline Quentin) looking back on her life as she composes her memoirs. “She has asked two prostitute friends and a customer to try and help her remember – or create, really, as she can’t remember herself,” Gwyneth explains. “I play a girl called Swallow, whom we don’t know much about, who is haunted by her own past. However, she also has an amazing gift for acting so she takes the lead role in the reconstruction, playing the young Fanny. And the two parts cross over a lot – it’s often not entirely clear whether it’s Swallow or Fanny speaking. Do they have a voice, and is anyone listening?

“Fanny is ambitious and very wide-eyed, she goes into everything very cheerfully, and realises not that her life is not perfect but she has gumption and picks herself up every time. She’s resilient, and knows that she can’t afford to stay vulnerable. We follow her story through first enjoying sex, then hating what she has to do, and finally finding empowerment through it. She goes through some big highs and lows, but has a lot of fun in the process.”

Fanny Hill 5 February-7 March, Bristol Old Vic. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/fannyhill.html

Pic credit: ShotAway