The Perfect Gentleman Issue 8 - Halloween | Page 34

The Libertine
You shouldn't like the 2nd Earl of Rochester, in
fact it is something he tells you in his opening
soliloquy in Stephen Jeffrey's play about the
debauched man.
First written in 1994, then played famously by
John Malkovich in Chicago in 1996 and then on
screen by Johnny Depp in 2004. Is now in the
very capable hands of Dominic Cooper on stage
in London's Theatre Royal Haymarket.

It is certainly not about a Perfect Gentleman but
this modern restoration dramedy is both
enlightening and relevant to today's world. How
frequently have we seen talented souls brought
down by there own demons despite the best
efforts of those that care. In this case his devoted
wife, Elizabeth Malet (Alice Bailey Johnson).
Though you might not agree with him & his
behaviour nor indeed like him You do
understand The Libertine.

The play is about the life of John Wilmot, the 2nd
Earl of Rochester. He was a hedonist, a reprobate
a satirist, poet and indeed great thinker. But filled
with a self-destructive demon. Mr Cooper
portrays this duality with fun, masculinity and yet
sensitivity especially in his dealings with the the
actress, Elizabeth Barry. Barry, played by Ophelia
Lovibond, is full of modern vision and verve and
the match for Rochester's wit but cannot stop his
demons.
A favourite of King Charles II, played with style
by Japser Britton, he is in and out of favour until
one of his merry band is killed in a drunken fight
and Rochester's descent is hastened.

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by Zach Falconer-Barfield

The Cultural Reviews