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''Tis Pity She's a Whore'' (original spelling: ''Tis Pitty Shee's a Who'' 'o'''re'') is a
tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
written by
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
. It was first performed or between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre. The play was first published in 1633, in a
quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...
printed by
Nicholas Okes Nicholas Okes (died 1645) was an English printer in London of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, remembered for printing works of English Renaissance drama. He was responsible for early editions of works by many of the playwrights of the period, in ...
for the bookseller Richard Collins. Ford dedicated the play to John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough and Baron of Turvey.


Synopsis

Giovanni, recently returned to Parma from university in Bologna, has developed an incestuous passion for his sister Annabella and the play opens with his discussing this ethical problem with
Friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...
Bonaventura. Bonaventura tries to convince Giovanni that his desires are evil despite Giovanni's passionate reasoning and eventually persuades him to try to rid himself of his feelings through repentance. Annabella, meanwhile, is being approached by a number of suitors including Bergetto, Grimaldi, and Soranzo. She is not interested in any of them. Giovanni finally tells her how he feels (obviously having failed in his attempts to repent) and finally wins her over. Annabella's
tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...
ess Putana (literally, "Whore") encourages the relationship. The siblings consummate their relationship. Hippolita, a past lover of Soranzo, verbally attacks him, furious with him for letting her send her husband Richardetto on a dangerous journey she believed would result in his death so that they could be together, then declining his vows and abandoning her. Soranzo leaves and his servant Vasques promises to help Hippolita get revenge on Soranzo and the pair agree to marry after they murder him. Richardetto is not dead but also in Parma in disguise with his niece Philotis. Richardetto is also desperate for revenge against Soranzo and convinces Grimaldi that to win Annabella, he should stab Soranzo with a poisoned sword. Unfortunately, Bergetto and Philotis, now betrothed, are planning to marry secretly in the place Richardetto orders Grimaldi to wait. Grimaldi mistakenly stabs and kills Bergetto instead, leaving Philotis, Poggio (Bergetto's servant), and Donado (Bergetto's uncle) distraught. Annabella resigns herself to marrying Soranzo, knowing she has to marry someone other than her brother. She subsequently falls ill and it is revealed that she is pregnant. Friar Bonaventura then persuades her to marry Soranzo before her pregnancy becomes apparent. Donado and Florio (father of Annabella and Giovanni) go to the cardinal's house, where Grimaldi has been in hiding, to beg for justice. The cardinal refuses due to Grimaldi's high status and instead sends him back to Rome. Florio tells Donado to wait for God to bring them justice. Annabella and Soranzo are married soon after, and their ceremony includes masque dancers, one of whom reveals herself to be Hippolita. She claims to be willing to drink a toast with Soranzo and the two raise their glasses and drink, on which note she explains that her plan was to poison his wine. Vasques comes forward and reveals that he was always loyal to his master and he poisoned Hippolita. She dies spouting insults and damning prophecies to the newlyweds. Seeing the effects of anger and revenge, Richardetto abandons his plans and sends Philotis off to a convent to save her soul. When Soranzo discovers Annabella's pregnancy, the two argue until Annabella realises that Soranzo truly did love her and finds herself consumed with guilt. She is confined to her room by her husband, who plots with Vasques to avenge himself against his cheating wife and her unknown lover. On Soranzo's exit, Putana comes onto the stage and Vasques pretends to befriend her to gain the name of Annabella's baby's father. Once Putana reveals that it's Giovanni, Vasques has bandits tie Putana up and put out her eyes as punishment for the terrible acts she has willingly overseen and encouraged. In her room, Annabella writes a letter to her brother in her own blood, warning him that Soranzo knows and will soon seek revenge. The friar delivers the letter but Giovanni is too arrogant to believe he can be harmed and ignores advice to decline the invitation to Soranzo's birthday feast. The friar subsequently flees Parma to avoid further involvement in Giovanni's downfall. On the day of the feast, Giovanni visits Annabella in her room and after talking with her, stabs her during a kiss. He then enters the feast, at which all remaining characters are present, wielding a dagger on which his sister's heart is skewered and tells everyone of the incestuous affair. Florio dies immediately from shock. Soranzo attacks Giovanni verbally and Giovanni stabs and kills him. Vasques intervenes, wounding Giovanni before ordering the bandits to finish the job. Following the massacre, the cardinal orders Putana to be burnt at the stake, Vasques to be banished, and the church to seize all the wealth and property belonging to the dead. Richardetto finally reveals his true identity to Donado and the play ends with the cardinal saying of Annabella "who could not say, 'Tis pity she's a whore?".


Characters

* Men ** Friar Bonaventura – A friar and Giovanni's mentor ** A Cardinal –
Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...
to the Pope ** Soranzo – A nobleman (Annabella's suitor and eventual husband) ** Florio – A citizen of Parma, and father of Annabella and Giovanni ** Donado – A citizen of Parma, and uncle of Bergetto ** Grimaldi – A Roman gentleman (Annabella's suitor) ** Giovanni – Son of Florio (his name is pronounced with four syllables) ** Bergetto – Nephew of Donado (Annabella's suitor and then Philotis's fiancé/suitor) ** Richardetto – Hippolita's husband, disguised as a physician, also Philotis' uncle ** Vasques – Loyal servant to Soranzo ** Poggio – Servant to Bergetto ** Banditti – Outlaws, a criminal mob ** Officers * Women ** Annabella – Daughter of Florio ** Hippolita – Wife of Richardetto (Soranzo's former paramour) ** Philotis – Niece of Richardetto (becomes Bergetto's fiancée) ** Putana – Tutoress of Annabella; her name derives from the Italian word for "whore", puttana.


Reception

The play's open treatment of the subject of
incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity ( marriage or stepfamily), ado ...
made it one of the most controversial works in English literature. The play was entirely omitted from an 1831 collection of Ford's plays; its title has often been changed to something euphemistic such as ''Giovanni and Annabella'' or ''Tis Pity'' or ''The Brother and Sister''. Indeed, until well into the twentieth century, critics were usually harsh in their condemnations of the play; the subject matter offended them, as did Ford's failure to condemn his protagonist. Critic Mark Stavig wrote, "Instead of stressing the villainy, Ford portrays Giovanni as a talented, virtuous, and noble man who is overcome by a tumultuous, unavoidable passion that brings about his destruction". Adolphus Ward said: "''Tis Pity She's a Whore'' has been justly recognized as a tragedy of extraordinary power". Since the mid-twentieth century, scholars and critics have generally shown more appreciation of the complexities and ambiguities of the work, though the treatment of the main subject still remains "unsettling", in the words of Michael Billington, reviewing the 2014 production for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'', because Ford refuses "to either condone or condemn incest: he simply presents it as an unstoppable force".


Notable performances

* The play was revived early in the Restoration era;
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
saw a 1661 performance at the
Salisbury Court Theatre The Salisbury Court Theatre was a theatre in 17th-century London. It was in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Court, which was formerly the London residence of the Bishops of Salisbury. Salisbury Court was acquired by Richard Sackville in 1564 ...
. In 1894, the play was translated into French by Maurice Maeterlinck and produced under the title ''Annabella'' at the
Théâtre de l'Œuvre The Théâtre de l'Œuvre is a Paris theatre on the Right Bank, located at 3, Cité Monthiers, entrance 55, rue de Clichy, in the 9° arrondissement. It is commonly conflated and confused with the late-nineteenth-century theater company named Th� ...
. * The play was not seen again in Britain until 1923, in a production by the Phoenix Society at the
original Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre was a theatre in central London, England, between 1888 and 1941. It was built by John Lancaster for his wife, Ellen Wallis, a well-known Shakespearean actress. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps and built by Mess ...
, and thereafter it was performed by the
Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamber ...
Club (1934) and in two productions by
Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE (born Donald Woolfitt; Harwood, Ronald"Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008; accessed 14 July 2009 20 April 1902 ...
in 1940 (Cambridge) and 1941 ( The Strand Theatre). * In 1980 Declan Donnellan directed the play for New Theatre Company at Theatre Space and Half Moon Theatre. The lead roles played by Malcolm Jamieson and Angelique Rockas received praise for their performances. * In 2011, Jonathan Munby directed a "
Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensemble ...
-esque" production of the play set in 1960s Italy, staged at the
West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire. Having originally opened in 1970 in a different location in Leeds, it reopened as West Yorkshire Playhouse, on Quarry Hill, in March 1990. After a refurbishment in 2018-20 ...
in Leeds from 7 to 28 May. Featuring an image of Christ and the Virgin Mary, the publicity poster for the play caused controversy before it even opened, and was replaced after a letter of complaint from the
Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds The Bishop of Leeds is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds in the Province of Liverpool, England. The Vicariate Apostolic of the Yorkshire District was elevated to diocese status as the Diocese of Beverley on 29 September ...
. In the lead roles,
Damien Molony Damien Molony (born 21 February 1984) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his television roles as Hal Yorke in BBC Three's '' Being Human'', DC Albert Flight in the BBC's ''Ripper Street'', DS Jack Weston in Channel 5's '' Suspects'', Jon ...
as Giovanni and Sarah Vickers as Annabella received praise for their performances. * Between 2011 and 2014, theatre company Cheek by Jowl staged the play, directed by Declan Donnellan and designed by
Nick Ormerod Nicholas Ronald Ormerod OBE (born 9 December 1951) is a British theatre designer and co-founder of the international theatre company Cheek by Jowl. In 1981 he founded Cheek by Jowl with Declan Donnellan, and they are the company's co-artistic dir ...
. The production went on tour to the
Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...
in New York and the
Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...
in London, amongst others. The production was revived with different casts in 2012 and 2014. In 2011–2012, Lydia Wilson played Annabella, and the role was played by
Gina Bramhill Gina Bramhill (born 30 July 1986) is a British actress. Background Gina Bramhill was born in Eastoft, where she grew up on a farm, and was educated at South Axholme Academy and John Leggott College. As a child, she appeared in several scho ...
in 2012–2013 and Eve Ponsonby in 2014. * Michael Longhurst directed a production of the play in 2014 at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, part of the
Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and ...
, making use of period costumes and Jacobean musical instruments, as well as candlelight.


Adaptations

* ' (1961), French adaptation by director
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...
, performed at the
Théâtre de Paris The Théâtre de Paris is a theatre located at 15, rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It includes a second smaller venue, the Petit Théâtre de Paris. History The first theatre on the site was built by the Duke of Richelieu in 1730 ...
with Romy Schneider (Annabella) and
Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...
(Giovanni). * '' My Sister, My Love'' (''Syskonbädd 1782'') (1966), film adaptation by director
Vilgot Sjöman David Harald Vilgot Sjöman (2 December 1924 – 9 April 2006) was a Swedish writer and film director. His films deal with controversial issues of social class, morality, and sexual taboos, combining the emotionally tortured characters of Ingm ...
, starring
Bibi Andersson Berit Elisabet Andersson (11 November 1935 – 14 April 2019), known professionally as Bibi Andersson (), was a Swedish actress who was best known for her frequent collaborations with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. Early life and career Anders ...
and
Per Oscarsson Per Oscar Heinrich Oscarsson (28 January 1927 – 31 December 2010) was a Swedish actor. He is best known for his role in the 1966 film ''Hunger'', which earned him a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. Early life Oscarsson was born, alon ...
* '' 'Tis Pity She's a Whore'' (''Addio fratello crudele'') (1971), film adaptation by director
Giuseppe Patroni Griffi Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (26 February 1921 – 15 December 2005) was an Italian playwright, screenwriter, director, and author. He was born in Naples in an aristocratic family and moved to Rome immediately after the end of World War II and spen ...
, starring
Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...
and Oliver Tobias * Filmed for
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
by director
Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (born 17 November 1945) is a British director and producer of film and television, known for the Academy Award-winning films ''The Killing Fields'' and '' The Mission''. He began his career in television, his early credits inclu ...
under its original title, and transmitted on 7 May 1980, Production starred Kenneth Cranham (as Giovanni), Cherie Lunghi (as Annabella), and John Coles Jeremy Child, as the Priest. It used an unedited text while transferring the setting to eighteenth century England. * A
BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The sta ...
adaptation featuring Jessie Buckley as Annabella and
Damien Molony Damien Molony (born 21 February 1984) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his television roles as Hal Yorke in BBC Three's '' Being Human'', DC Albert Flight in the BBC's ''Ripper Street'', DS Jack Weston in Channel 5's '' Suspects'', Jon ...
as Giovanni was adapted and directed by Pauline Harris and first broadcast on 7 January 2018. * ''Schade, dass sie eine Hure war'', German
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
adaptation by (
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...
) and Anno Schreier (composer), world premiere on 16 February 2019, Opernhaus Düsseldorf


Influence

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are th ...
has said that the play provided him with the main template for his 1989 film '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover''.Vernon Gras and Marguerite Gras (eds.), ''Peter Greenaway: Interviews'', Jackson, Mississippi, University Press of Mississippi, 2000; p. 69 The pilot episode of ''
Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...
'', "
The Killings at Badger's Drift ''The Killings at Badger's Drift'' is a mystery novel by English writer Caroline Graham and published by Century in 1987. The story follows Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby investigating the murder of an elderly spinster in a rural village. It is t ...
" (1997), contains references to the play. A song with almost the same name, " 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore", is featured on
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's final studio album '' Blackstar'' (2016). " Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", from the same album, loosely recounts the play's events from Annabella's decision to marry Soranzo to Giovanni's reception of her note written in blood. The play is referenced in
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...
's 1982 play '' The Real Thing''.


References


External links

* –
Giuseppe Patroni Griffi Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (26 February 1921 – 15 December 2005) was an Italian playwright, screenwriter, director, and author. He was born in Naples in an aristocratic family and moved to Rome immediately after the end of World War II and spen ...
's 1971 feature film based upon the play * (TV, BRT) * (TV, BBC)
Full text
Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materi ...

Scanned text
HathiTrust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locall ...
Digital Library *
Timeline, characters, production history, synopsis, critical perspectives
Red Bull Theatre The Red Bull was an inn-yard conversion erected in Clerkenwell, London operating in the 17th century. For more than four decades, it entertained audiences drawn primarily from the City and its suburbs, developing a reputation over the years for ...
br>New York


– review of a modern performance by the Friendly Fire Theatre
Reviews of the 1980 New Theatre production, directed by Declan Donnellan
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tis Pity She's A Whore English Renaissance plays 1633 plays Revenge plays Incest in plays Plays by John Ford (dramatist) Plays set in Italy British plays adapted into films Tragedy plays