So, when my days of impotence approach,
And I’m by pox and wine’s unlucky chance
Forced from the pleasing pillows of debauch
On the dull shore of lazy temperance…
So wrote John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1647 – 1680) in A Satyr Against Reason and Mankind, one of his many poems which, as far as I can ascertain are predominately justifying his love of a completely debauched and hedonistic lifestyle, rebelling against the Puritan influence that had previously been wringing the neck of 17th century funsters and was being kicked to the cobblestones during the Restoration Period, nobly led by the equally fun loving Charles II. It was also quite prescient given that he passed away from venereal disease and the effects of alcoholism at the ripe old age of 33.
Don’t think he ever reached the “dull shore of lazy temperance” or if he did it was brief and in the arms of his well born and much maligned wife, Elizabeth Malet.
He was clearly a very clever and witty man but also plagued by a bitter and careless arrogance and contempt, rendering him incapable of truly appreciating his wife, his children, his favourite whore, his King or even his merry gang of fellow dissipates. He doesn’t even appreciate himself.
Thus, the opening lines of playwright Stephen Jeffreys’ THE LIBERTINE:
Allow me to be frank at the commencement. You will not like me. The gentlemen will be envious, and the ladies will be repelled. You will not like me now and you will like me a good deal less as we go on. … That is my prologue. Nothing in rhyme. No protestations of modesty. You were not expecting that, I hope. I am John Wilmot. Second Earl of Rochester. And I do not want you to like me.
HER___Productions, ably led by Charlotte De Wit and Marigold Pazar has taken the costuming and casting challenge of Stephen Jeffreys version, written in 1994, of the John Wilmot 2nd Earl of Rochester saga and added the extra challenge of delivering two versions; one reasonably true to the Restoration period style with a suitably charismatic and attractive William McLennan as the Earl of Rochester and the other a “Now” with the equally seductive Rose Treloar portraying him, now her.
Read that again. A female portraying the titular Earl as a woman. Given that one of Her_ Productions missions is to “champion stories by and about women and marginalised voices”, this bodes that in 2026 women can be just as seductive, manipulative, aggressively smart, licentious and debauched as men! Who would have thought?
So, I went twice, which was just as well as there’s a fair bit to take in terms of dialogue and action.
First, don’t expect this to be a romp through the Earl’s significant exploits of his youth and early 20’s. Jeffrey’s script commences in the latter years of Rochester’s life, whereby they have already been imprisoned in the Tower for attempting to abduct the wealthy beauty, Elizabeth Malet, been forgiven as a war hero, become a Gentleman of the Bedchamber for Charles II, married Elizabeth, had 4 children with her and written volumes of satirical verse. Where we come in the Earl is now wildly sliding down the slippery slope of continual drunkenness and general excess and starting to lose favour with their patron, King Charles II.
It’s around 1673 and Rochester is partying hard with their coterie, comprising of the jobbing playwright George Etherege, (Harold Phipps) the dissipated nobleman Charles Sackville (Mark Barry) and the would-be spark Billy Downs (Lilly Kime). An initially presumed unscrupulous thief and rogue Alcock (Aiden Clark) is roped in as a manservant and the favourite whore, Jane, portrayed in the masculine version by Mia Foley and the female version by Jess Dalton bounces around the edges, equally concerned for the Earl but also quite pragmatic about their role in his/her life.
Rochester: Did you miss me?
Jane: I missed the money.
Rochester: Good. I don’t like a whore with sentiment.
Co-director and Producer Charlotte De Wit portrays Rochester’s long-suffering wife, Elizabeth Marlet whilst Evan Booth brings the exact right mixture of flagging licentiousness and weary gravitas and loyalty to his role as King Charles II.
Fellow Director and Producer, Marigold Pazar, gives us Elizabeth Barry, the emerging star of The Playhouse stage, initially booed and reviled by the audience for her unwillingness to perform in the over-exaggerated style of the time and the object of Rochester’s interest. The Earl proposes to her to “train you … in your acting” and wages a 100 guinea with Etherege to make her the most famous actress of their time. The wager makes good, but the kicker is in so doing, Rochester develops a genuine desire for her, proposing to divorce Elizabeth Marlet and marry her. “I never wanted you for a mistress, Lizzy. I wanted you for my wife”.
The rebuttal is assured, sensible and solid “I will not swap my certain glory for your undependable love.”
Katy Curruthers doubles up in a few roles but is most notable as The Playhouse’s pragmatic and devoted Stage Manager Molly Luscombe, while Barnaby Donaghy gives up light relief in a few roles; a Playhouse actor who is more interested in buying a pie than being on cue and later an artist, Mr Huysman commissioned to paint Rochester and Elizabeth’s couple portrait. In this scene Huysman is subjected to a recalcitrant and cynical Earl who sees the portrait as absurd and who, upon spying an organ grinder’s monkey outside the window, sends Alcock to purchase the monkey to replace Elizabeth who has stormed off in disgust. Funny, but also terribly cruel.
They are a good-looking and wildly talented cast, made even more appealing in both “Then” and “Now” incarnations by the sumptuous costumes created by Melinda Hicks, who uses recycled materials to create works of art on stage.
So, we are witness to the 11th hour, the “something rotten in the guts” that has taken hold already and the rest is decline. Rochester racks up a litany of vile acts; completely lampooning King Charles in a play commissioned by Charles himself, indicating that Charles is wildly lascivious with the play’s intention being to present live sexual acts, extensive use of dildos and 3 performances in a day.
Further revelries include drunkenly participating in the destruction of a valuable timepiece monument erected by the King and finally fleeing the scene and the country when, in a late-night scuffle with the night watch constabulary, Downes is killed by a pike. It is a cowardly act and the final spiral that sees Rochester trying to reconcile not only with God but with their ever-forgiving wife, Elizabeth, accompanied by the faithful Alcock and Jane ministering to the rapidly declining physical and mental health of the Earl.
Stylistically, this production jumps about so keep up. A game of Paille Maille, a 16th-century European precursor to modern croquet, is played during some significant dialogue, a reflective and quite naturalistic acting lesson is enacted, then a song/ode to dildos that leads us into a bawdy rehearsal of the satirical play that is meant to be presented at the King’s festivities but is fortunately prematurely interrupted by the King himself, late night wild revelries and wanton destruction contrasting with gut-wrenching heartbreak and despair with complete physical and mental breakdown – it’s a bit of a ride.
This is no plot spoiler; John Wilmot 2nd Earl of Rochester’s life and death is well documented so the dramatic tension here is not what happens to this infamous wit and rake, but rather how the last 6 years or so of a man who was so hugely self-aware, highly intelligent, madly self-destructive and tragically flawed played out.
Also, the Civic Playhouse (how apt that The Playhouse is the theatre depicted in THE LIBERTINE) has been recently refurbished with new seating which allows comfort for a show that runs 2 hours 50 with interval.
THE LIBERTINE is presented by Upstage and produced by HER_Productions will continue at the Civic Playhouse, 375 Hunter Street Newcastle 2300 for the following dates and times.
Thursday Period (Then)………………………………….9 July 2026, 7pm
Friday Contemporary (Now)…………………………10 July 2026, 7pm
Saturday Period (Then)………………………………….11 July 2026, 2pm
Saturday Contemporary (Now)………………………11 July 2026, 7pm
Bookings through Civic Theatre Ticket Office (02) 4929 1977
Seeing both adaptations? Save $5 on the second performance by selecting the ‘Second Version Discount Offer’ at Seat Selection.
