SWINDON FESTIVAL OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Considering the subject matter, the Merry Swives of Rochester, performed last night at Lydiard House, was a distinctly sober affair.
A play based around Lord Rochester (1647-1680), it chronicled not only the life of a particularly colourful character in England's history, but a time when royalty cared more for drinking than ruling and you only procured a wife so that you could have a mistress.
One line of the play said: "The surest way to death is living too much." It seems this was very apt for Lord Rochester who managed to travel Europe, win his wife, become best mates with the King, drink night after night, have children, sleep with countless prostitutes, and write poetry all before dying at the tender age of 33. After this hour-long play, written and performed solely by Jonathan Preece, I felt I had gained a glimpse at the seedy side of London of that time. The play was obviously well researched and very well written. And Preece acted it out superbly, managing to make a dialogue-intensive scene full of action, heartache and humour.
By Marion Langford
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