A glimpse into the life of a feisty forgotten feminist of the Georgian age
Despite multiple portraits hanging on London’s hallowed gallery walls, famous actress, celebrity and
author Mary Robinson has yet to have her contemporary cultural zeitgeist. Enter stage left, Perdita.
Written by Sophie Todd, who also plays the titular protagonist, the first half of the play deals with
Robinson’s youth as a teenager wedded to drunken gambler Thomas Robinson (played by Kevin Martin Murphy). We see her follow him all the way to debtor’s prison with their newborn child Maria where her writing is so popular it neatly pays off their debt and she returns to the stage to be mentored by bringing David Garrick out of retirement. Here she flourishes, although we never really see her on stage.
Despite the ominous voiceover announcing each year chronologically for context, we start the second act with her death and work our way back to it from her 20s. Focusing on her rise to fame as an actress, writer and feminist, it is here we also learn of her dalliance with Prince George, the Prince Regent. This is followed rather swiftly into her longest and final relationship with the fantastically named Banastre Tarleton (also played by Murphy).
The set is smartly structured as a still life of a meal at a table; orderly items overlapping, deliberately
blending scale and shape complimented by the lighting design. Sophie Todd is marvelous as Robinson. Her raw, heartfelt understanding of this character bursts through with every zealous line. She excels at presenting pathos and passion as Mary matures into her autonomy despite socioeconomic or even physical restrictions. Murphy’s portrayal of her insufferable letch of a husband is likewise a nuanced turn. He is both disgustingly wretched and utterly believable as the overbearing husband cashing in on his wife’s “duties”. Special mention too for Emma Zadow, who depicts everyone else, from Mary’s scheming mother, to her vulnerable yet fiery daughter, and everything in between from drunken sailor to reluctant high society dominatrix. Occasionally her acting is overwrought but she has elasticity to her body language; blending accent, tone, expression and embodiment to each one convincingly to demonstrate excellent acting range.
Unfortunately the play suffers from rather odd pacing. It feels like it both drags on and yet you want
more. The show glosses over far too many interesting aspects of Robinson’s life for 90 minutes to really do it justice. Her entire life is presented as one dour episode after another, despite what must have been a very tumultuous rags story of notoriety. Ignored are the famous women of her age who paid her patronage (Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire) and unfair criticism (Mary Wollstonecraft). Glossed over are the men she beds as part of her sexual revolution (The Prince Regent). We sadly never see her thriving; instead snapshots of happiness are stolen in between scene changes or brief private
Shakespeare recitals. We never see her with her daughter, we never even really see her on stage, and
instead there are snippets of backstage rehearsals or prison readings. All these colourful, interesting
experiences and relationships deserve justice just as much as her time in prison or her physical ailments.
At the heart of this play really is the Perdita from Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale. She is a brief but
shining light in the late Georgian period whose literary acclaim ascended as much as her sexual exploits with royalty. This play takes a good stab at it, with sensationally diverse acting performances, excellent staging but lacks polish and pacing for a perfect portrayal.
Part of Shakefest at Camden Fringe, Perdita ran at the Old Red Lion Theatre, London from 4-7th August 2026.