Whore
Portobello Popup
4th October 2012

★★★☆☆

For their second of three plays performed in rep this month, Barefaced Theatre are staging a new version of their provocatively named Whore. I say it's a play, but really, it's more of a character study, focusing on four famous prostitutes, Marie Duplessis, Valerie Solanas, Polly Adler and Theresa Berkley.

The four women occupy very clearly defined spaces and deliver monologues, explaining their background and their story. There is sometimes interaction between the women, across history, with small nods and smiles and at one point, all four women dance together. For the most part though, the women are kept separate.

Berri George plays Marie, a famous French courtesan and describes with delight how her trade gets her pretty presents from wealthy male visitors. George gives her character the same confidence as Liz Gray in All Hidden, but here she is also flirty, playful and even verging on slightly unhinged. Her costume is intricately designed, with her corner of the stage equally ornately set, with various perfumes lined up on her dressing table.

Anne Zander takes on the role of Valerie, a prostitute turned gangster, with her medium length hair swept up to make her seem more masculine and her table a more functional desk, complete with phone and typewriter. Valerie declares she is writing a manifesto and seems disappointed at the lack of interest.

Also coming across as more independent lady, we have Alexa Brown playing Adler. As an American madam, she is business-minded and dons a hounds-tooth suit jacket to add a more authoritative touch to her feminine black dress and mink wrap. Brown delivers a beautiful solo rendition of The House of the Rising Sun, without any accompaniment, in a brave and well executed move.

Marcia Brown goes from war hero to dominatrix, playing the inventor of the Berkley horse, a piece of bedroom equipment designed to inflict pleasurable pain. With dark red lipstick, a lacy corset, frilly cropped trousers and stiletto boots, Brown moves effortlessly from one character to another, ever the chameleon. Theresa is cool, assured and rarely lets the mask fall.

All four characters explain why they believe they're the victors, not the victims, justifying their chosen profession with ease. However, we catch a glimpse that perhaps all is not what it seems, with Marie letting slip that she would like a husband, but no one will marry an old whore and Theresa mentioning a younger brother who would undoubtedly disapprove of what she does. There are hints at the complexities of the characters and we are able to empathise with how they have ended up where they are.

The fourth wall is broken a few times by Zander and George, however you can't help but feel that the piece would work even better as a site-specific interactive production, with the audience free to actually engage with the characters. It turns out that the previous version of Whore wasn't far off that, so it's a shame that director Tim Sullivan and main writer George have moved away from that concept. Bringing the audience closer to the actors would also help eliminate any projection difficulties.

All in all, this is less of a drama and more of a history lesson, albeit one with a more spicy nature than you would expect to find in the classroom.

Whore previewed on 4th October 2012, then ran from 24th to 31st October 2012 at the Portobello Popup.

Nearest tube station: Ladbroke Grove (Circle, Hammersmith & City)