First performed in 1798, this play is the work of trailblazing actress and writer Elizabeth Inchbald. It was the hit of the season at Covent Garden. Jane Austen knew the play and Lovers’ Vows featured in her novel Mansfield Park, where it was considered too scandalous to perform. Rarely produced since the 1850s, Historia Theatre Company talks about the stories behind this revival.
How have you approached the task of reviving a play that hasn’t been widely produced since the 1850s? What challenges did you face in making it resonate with modern audiences?
We noticed the preponderance of contemporary and very pressing themes such as homelessness, single parenthood and the way that women are the main victims in this regard. Based on this, it was not difficult to make the play resonate with a modern audience. The anguish of the victims in the play is dramatically expressed in a way which elicits both engagement and sympathy. And one of the main victims is a male: the illegitimate son of the homeless woman
Elizabeth Inchbald’s work was considered scandalous in its time, and even in Mansfield Park, it stirred controversy. How do you think the themes of Lovers’ Vows—family loyalty, forbidden love, and defying social norms—speak to contemporary viewers?
This gives us the chance to expand on our last answer. In a way loyalty to family is not in our view foregrounded in LOVERS’ VOWS. The baron is forced to accept that over adherence to the traditions and mores of family has been disastrous emotionally for him and for Agatha and Frederick. One of the things that the Baron has learnt in twenty years of guilt and unhappiness is that his loved ones (especially Amelia) must be given the chance to wed the partners of their choice. So adherence to social norms together with family loyalty can be stultifying and even dangerous in the effect it might have on mental health – in itself a very important preoccupation for our times. And this leaves a lot less to play with in the “forbidden love “ bracket! What is forbidden love anyway, the play seems to ask?
The play features complex characters like Frederick, who resorts to violence in desperation, and Amelia, who defies her father’s wishes. How did the actors bring out the humanity and nuances in these roles?
Both actors playing these roles are gifted and both elicit our sympathy. Although violence is never to be encouraged, we do feel for Frederick as he learns of his mother’s terrible predicament. Yet even as he raises the dagger to attack the baron, his hand trembles. And we sense he will not follow through. Again, his first thought on being captured is not for himself but for his dying mother. Similarly, Amelia has such charm in the way she manages to persuade her father to allow her to marry Anhalt (who possesses the interesting juxtaposition of low social rank and the height of virtue and decency) that we are bewitched. The actor playing Amelia does this with perfect grace. It must however be admitted that she is on a good wicket: her father already knows that he wants her to be happy at all costs, and unlike some girls, she knows that she is secure in her father’s love.
What is the significance of the historical and literary context—such as Jane Austen’s association with the play—in shaping your production? Did this influence your artistic choices?
We re-read MANSFIELD PARK as part of our preparation. While the timing of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth is a happy coincidence, we would not say that this particularly influenced our artistic choices. Mrs Inchbald preceded Miss Austen. LOVERS’ VOWS has more in common perhaps with the dramatic traditions of continental writers particularly Kotzebue.
The play’s plot combines dramatic tension with emotional depth. How did you balance these elements to create an engaging and authentic experience for the audience?
The director was very concerned to exterminate both melodrama and what he termed a “conversational style” in the way that his actors worked. He aimed at finding the truth and he worked very hard to help the actors all find the truth in their characters. And it must also be remembered that in addition to the dramatic tension and emotional depth, there is plenty of humour. The Cottagers’ scenes are just one example of that.
For tickets and info, please visit https://brockleyjack.co.uk/jackstudio-entry/lovers-vows/