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| All's
Well That Ends Well
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All's
Well That Ends Well
by William Shakespeare
Performed
at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre,
Stratford-upon-Avon
Opened on 11th November 1981
Transferred to the Barbican Theatre,
London
Opened on 29th May 1982
The
Royal Shakespeare Company
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Pictures
from All's Well That Ends Well
(please click on each picture for
a larger version)
Mike
Gwilym as Bertram, John Franklyn-Robbins
as The King of France
and Harriet Walter as Helena |
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Cheryl Campbell as Diana
dancing with Roger Allam as Morgan
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Peggy
Ashcroft as
The Countess of Rossillion
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| CAST: |
| Rossillion |
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| The
Countess of Rossillion |
Peggy
Ashcroft |
| Bertram,
her son |
Mike
Gwilym |
| Helena,
the Countess' gentlewoman |
Harriet
Walter |
| Captain
Parolles, Bertram's companion |
Stephen
Moore |
| Rynaldo,
the Countess' steward |
David
Lloyd Meredith |
| Lavache |
Geoffrey
Hutchings |
| Bertram's
servant |
John
McAndrew |
| Maids |
Vivienne
Argent, Sarah Finch,
Julia Hills, Elizabeth Rider,
Susan Jane Tanner |
| Paris |
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| The
King of France |
John
Franklyn-Robbins |
| Lord
Lafeu |
Robert
Eddison |
| A
Gentleman |
Griffith
Jones |
| Captain
Dumaine, the elder |
Peter
Land |
| Captain
Dumaine, the younger |
Philip
Franks |
| Gentlemen
and Suitors |
Tom
Hunsinger, Christopher Hurst,
John McAndrew, Gary Sharkey,
David Whitaker |
| Ladies |
Vivienne
Argent, Sarah Finch,
Julia Hills, Elizabeth Rider,
Susan Jane Tanner |
| Florence |
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| The
Duke of Florence |
Peter
Ellis |
| Widow
Capilet |
Gillian
Webb |
| Diana,
her daughter |
Cheryl
Campbell |
| Violenta,
her neighbour |
Susan
Jane Tanner |
| Mariana |
Julia
Hills |
| Morgan,
a soldier |
Roger
Allam |
| Soldiers |
Tom
Hunsinger, Christopher Hurst,
John McAndrew, Gary Sharkey,
David Whitaker |
| Waitresses |
Vivienne
Argent, Sarah Finch,
Elizabeth Rider |
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| TECHNICAL
TEAM: |
| Directed
by |
Trevor
Nunn |
| Designed
by |
John
Gunter |
| Costumes
by |
Lindy
Hemming |
| Lighting
by |
Robert
Bryan |
| Music
by |
Guy
Woolfenden |
| Dances
by |
Geraldine
Stephenson |
| Text
and Voice Work by |
Cicely
Berry |
| Assistant
Director |
Annie
Castledine/Alby James |
| Stage
Manager |
David
M. Harvey |
| Deputy
Stage Manager |
Stella
Bond |
| Assistant
Stage Manager |
Simon
Dodson |
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| The
Story |
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| Helena,
the orphaned daughter of a poor physician,
has been adopted by the Countess of
Rossillion. The Countess' son, Bertram,
with whom Helena is secretly in love,
leaves Rossillion to serve at the
French court.
The
King of France is gravely ill
and Helena journeys to the court
to try and cure him with one of
her father's remedies. When the
King recovers he offers to grant
her a boon - Helena asks for Bertram
in marriage and the King consents.
Bertram, however, is outraged
at being commanded to marry a
commoner. He goes through with
the ceremony but swears he will
not accept Helena as his wife
until she performs the impossible
- to wear his ring and conceive
his child, neither of which he
will ever give her. He immediately
sets off for the wars in Italy
with his companion Parolles.
Helena
follows him to Florence disguised
as a pilgrim, and learning of
his passion for a local girl,
Diana, substitutes herself in
Bertram's bed and obtains his
ring as a pledge. The boasting
Parolles is caught in a trap laid
by his doubting comrades. He is
exposed as a coward and no gentleman.
Believing Helena to be dead, Bertram,
triumphant in the war, returns
to Rossillion where he is confronted
by Helena, who is pregnant - and
wearing his ring. |
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| Date
and Sources |
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| Boccaccio's
Decamerone is the chief source
for the Helena/Bertram story in All's
Well That Ends Well. The Decameron
was adapted into English in 1575 by
William Paynter in The Palace of
Pleasure. Shakespeare added the
characters of Lafeu and Parolles and
the Countess and Lavache. Bernard
Shaw believed that the portrait of
the Countess was based on the Countess
of Pembroke, sister of Sir Philip
Sydney and patroness of the Arts.
The play
was written around 1603 and published
in the First Folio of 1623. The
first production on record was
in 1741. |
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