The Folger Shakespeare Theatre is refocusing the spotlight on a playwright who was one of the most famous writers of the early eighteenth century: Susanna Centlivre, whose name would have been very familiar to theatergoers in London in 1705 when she wrote “The Basset Table.” The Folger has renamed the play, set in a home where people gambled at cards all night long, “The Gaming Table.”
“What’s really amazing about this play is that in so many plays written during this time, women were just characters of different ages,” said director Eleanor Holdridge. “They could almost all be the same character except that they’re in different parts of the plot. But the women in Centlivre’s play have such distinct personalities. That’s tremendously rare.”
Although it’s a comedy of manners, “The Gaming Table” touches on serious issues: women’s education, politics, sex and especially women’s independence. The woman who owns the gambling house where the nightly action takes place is Lady Reveller, a widow.
| Onstage |
| ‘The Gaming Table’ |
| Where: The Folger Shakespeare Theatre, 201 E. Capitol St., SE |
| When: Through March 4 |
| Info: $30 to $65; 202-544-7077; folger.edu |
“There’s a lot of talk about how being a widow means having power,” said Holdridge, “because you don’t have a husband telling you what to do. Lady Reveller has independence, she has admirers, but the man she loves and who is desperate for her is very jealous. The things that are important to her way of life are things that he’s against. One challenge in the play is to see if she can get the man she loves and still keep her independence. In fact, almost all the lovers in the play face the same kind of issue.”
“The Gaming Table” is in a sense a reflection of its time. “These people were so rich and very hedonistic,” said Holdridge. “They were aristocrats and landowners. There is always a question hovering over them: ‘What shall we do now?’ They have so much money and so much time, the main question is how to fill up their days.
“That’s one reason they’re drawn to cards. The game of Basset is a lot about chance, it’s like roulette in many ways. It all depends on what card comes up. And there are lots of side bets. There’s a person who’s dealing cards you can bet on.”
Holdridge has several goals in this production. “I’m trying to emphasize the economic agenda and the Whig politics that run underneath the text,” she said. “I’m also trying to suggest that things haven’t changed that much since 1705. Most important, it’s a very effervescent, witty play and I want to sharpen the humor and preserve the play’s tone.”
“The Gaming Table” is being produced in coordination with the Folger’s exhibit, “Shakespeare’s Sisters: Voices of English and European Women Writers, 1500-1700.
