Theatre review: The Divine Mrs S

April De Angelis' The Divine Mrs S feels, in subject at least, like a successor to Jessica Swale's Nell Gwynn: Tracing the history of the original star actresses, we're in the Georgian era but the Restoration style of theatre still rules the London stage, and a woman can be the biggest draw and a genuine celebrity - and on acting talent alone this time, without the royal connection of her predecessor. Of course, having achieved her fame without a history of gossip and scandal, she's not immune to them once she's in the public eye. Rachael Stirling plays Mrs Sarah Siddons, member of the Kemble acting family, eclipsing her brothers in talent and popularity, but subject to the fickle moods of the papers and public that plague any woman who seems to be getting a bit too popular: Over the course of the evening we see how she can't win, and at the play's opening she's been criticised for returning to work too soon after her daughter's death.

Theatre review: The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich, or, The Beau Defeated

Restoration comedy has been having a moment lately, and after the efforts of Southwark Playhouse and the Donmar Warehouse comes the RSC to provide the element that's been missing so far: A production that actually works as a comedy. Mary Pix's The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich, more commonly known as The Beau Defeated, has as daft and convoluted a plot as any in the genre but crucially, in Jo Davies' production at least, it's possible to actually follow. There's a few different plot strands, all revolving around people trying to find a partner and/or a fortune, but the two main ones follow two women looking for husbands based on very different criteria. Sophie Stanton plays the titular Mrs Rich, widow of a banker and, in a bit of character naming that's painfully on-the-nose even by Restoration comedy standards, she's very rich. But in 1700 as in 2018 banking isn't the most beloved of professions, so the way she got her money means the society ladies she wants to mingle with look down on her.