The Last Stand of Mrs Mary Whitehouse
By Caroline Bird
Nottingham Playhouse
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Many younger people may not know who Mary Whitehouse was. A divisive figure, she was a devout Christian who rebelled against the swinging ‘60s and the rise of the permissive society.
She was regarded by some as the most dangerous woman in Britain because of her unshakeable views and the ways in which she made them public. This led to her receiving death threats – but she continued to campaign that those in authority should be held to account for a reduction in morality.
She became a powerful public figure, opposing the rise of paedophilia and child pornography which led to Parliament’s passing the Protection of Children Act in 1978.
Caroline Bird in her new play The Last Stand of Mrs Mary Whitehouse chose to focus not on her campaign to clean up television and establishing the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association. Instead the writer looks at Mrs Whitehouse’s life-long crusade against homosexuality which she regarded as sinful, even though in a broadcast interview in 1977 she said “it’s not a battle between me and the homosexuals”.
Maxine Peake as Mrs Mary Whitehouse [images: Helen Murray]
Changes of clothing and wigs enable Peake to metamorphose into the character at various stages of her life.
The most impressive depiction is Mrs Whitehouse as a 91-year-old in a nursing home, her brain still sharp although her fingers shake and her legs won’t go where she wants them to.
Peake pitches the role perfectly, eliciting admiration for the way Mrs Whitehouse bravely continues her struggle because she believes she is on a mission from God yet shocking the audience with vicious insults to some of the gay people she encounters.
Samuel Barnett and Maxine Peake
Alongside Peake, Samuel Barnett impeccably plays a host of characters ranging from a young man who’s not proud to be gay to Margaret Thatcher who is dismissive of some of Mrs Whitehouse’s strategies.
Barnett deftly plays both prosecuting and defence barristers during Mrs Whitehouse’s private prosecution of Gay News, the first for blasphemous libel for more than 50 years. Her bigoted views are evident when she says she didn’t prosecute the writer of a poem called The Love that Dares to Speak its Name because he was “clearly mentally ill”.
The most telling scene between the two actors is when Barnett plays Jill, a Guardian reporter who reveals the catastrophic outcome of Mrs Whitehouse’s trial victory which ultimately led to the closure of Gay News: that there was nowhere for gay people to read about the dangers of AIDS.
Barnett also shows his dexterity when he sings and plays piano on Bridge Over Troubled Water, a haunting anthem for a troubled young man searching for his real identity.
Director Sarah Frankcom who’s worked with Peake before brings out the pathos, depth and humour of Bird’s script.
The Last Stand of Mrs Mary Whitehouse is an unsettling, gripping and revelatory production of just one aspect of this committed moralist’s life. It’s another outstanding success for the Playhouse. Let’s hope Nottingham isn’t its last stand.
* This review originally appeared on the British Theatre Guide website
