Photo credit: Kai Dorovk
Shakespeare's Cousin
by Jonathan Moore
The White Bear Theatre, 138 Kennington Park Road, London | until 28 November 2026.
⭐⭐⭐ Review by William Russell
“Flawed but stimulating and chills the blood.”
There is some evidence that the Jesuit priest and poet Robert Southwell poet executed in 1592 may have been a cousin of William Shakespeare or at least related distantly to him and the connection has been the subject of much research. Jonathan Moore has taken it and the time Southwell spent being interrogated and tortured by Sir Robert Topliffe, who led the search for Jesuit priests and was famous in his lifetime for his cruelty and dedication, as the basis for this frankly work in progress play. The first part is devoted to the battle of wits between Topliffe and Southwell to get him to confess and to show some of the tortures inflicted on him. Robin England delivers a splendidly evil Topliffe, all surface charm and as a would-be poet discussing one of his own poems with the priest, who was celebrated for his work, and then, the mask stripped off, as ruthless and devoted to his Queen as any man could be. As Southwell Danny Solomon creates a man who will not succumb but is prepared to discuss the merit of Topliffe's verse before the torturer's mask drops and we see him enduring seated in and shackled in an impressively horrifying chair having the thumbscrews applied while from elsewhere in the prison come the screams of another priest being tortured. The problem comes when another man comes to visit Southwell, Sir Oliver, a hooded and mysterious person there with Topliffe's consent. It turns out that he is Shakespeare and a whole new conversation begins as priest and playwright discuss poetry and Shakespeare's work, in particular what he dares say in his plays and verse. Alexander Townson, distinctly off as Sir Oliver, reveals why when the mask is taken off to reveal a splendidly vain actor proud of his performance. There is a pretty awful joke when this mysterious man's identity is revealed. He seems to be there to perhaps persuade Southwell to recant as he himself might be at risk of falling victim to Southwell. Somehow the two parts do not fit together as thereafter play becomes more about Shakespeare than Southwell. There was one of those false ending moments when the audience delivered what was clearly the verdict applause only for the play to carry on. It has been well staged given the limits of the theatre and Moore, who also directs, has secured fine performances from his cast but there really is work to be done to make the two encounters work. In a way the most interesting man is Topliffe, a relatively undistinguished landowner who seems to have created his job as hunter in chief of Jesuits and their torturer all on his own. That he did it with the Queen's blessing seems also to have been true. The play that inevitably comes to mind is A Man for All Seasons which examines much of the same ground, just what it was that made men stand by their beliefs at all costs, and some men betray those who have befriended them. It is, for all its flaws, one that leaves one wanting to discuss all the issues it raises – we live in a world where torture of prisoners still prevails. In other words, this is a fine instance of a fringe theatre providing a place for the play to be tried out. Shakespeare's Cousin deserves a future. If the whole has its structural problems some of the arguments between the three men are stimulating to hear and the descriptions of the tortures inflicted chill the blood.
Cast
Robin Kingsland – Sir Robert Topliffe
Danny Solomon – Robert Southwell
Alexander Townson – Sir Oliver
Creatives
Director – Jonathan Moore
Lighting and Sound Des8gner – Gabriel Burns
Set & Costume Designer – Violet Gousden
