.

‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore
CUB Malthouse
Merlyn Theatre @ The Malthouse Theatre Complex, Southbank
11 February – 05 March
Tickets: $21-$55 (+bf)

Who was it that said romance is dead? Fair enough, the days of the chivalrous male may be somewhat passe, but rising star Elizabeth Nabben, feels that the “desire to find your other half still exists, even if subconsciously.”

Nabben makes her professional stage debut in the Malthouse Theatre’s interpretation of John Ford’s classic tale of tragic love, ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore, opening February 11.

Given that Nabben is undertaking the challenging role of the innocent Annabella in Ford’s controversial writing, Nabben has found herself exploring the realms of accepted and rejected love forms. While Annabella may cause a stir as she falls for her brother Giovanni as opposed to one of her three more suitable suitors, Nabben is keen to explain that there is more to their love than first meets the eye.

“They are both living in such a cold, cruel world, that when you look around you only find one person who is really connected to you,” says Nabben.

“When you have that connection it is hard to feel it is wrong even if you struggle with it. Given their own struggle and their surroundings it is hard to condemn the characters. Of course we see it as being against nature, but you have to ask yourself, why are they forced together in this way?”

While admitting that she neither believes Ford wanted to make incest acceptable, or that it should be accepted in today’s society, she feels that given context, the unlikely union is “sincere, heartfelt, deep and real. Even they know that they can’t survive the situation and that is the tragedy of it”.

Drawing strong parallels to the Shakespeare’s celebrated star-crossed Romeo and Juliet, Nabben is adamant that love is rarely “clean cut”.

“There is still love that is condemned, be it for race or sexuality,” Nabben states with a hint of sadness.

“You can still draw meaning from the piece even if you can’t relate to the incest. It allows you to reflect on your own life and issues, to draw meaning in a communal but safe space,” muses Nabben.

“The theatre allows us to explore things that we wouldn’t allow ourselves to”.

Clearly a fan of theatre that pushes boundaries, Nabben beams as she reveals her glee at having been cast for the role within weeks of completing her studies at the Victorian College of the Arts.

For Nabben, who won the role of Annabella after auditioning against three of her course mates, the casting was never going to be a “clean cut” decision.

“They were looking for a specific kind of energy, it wasn’t just about acting or singing. They were looking for the right kind of innocence to fit into this world,” says Nabben.

Having been unaware of the piece prior to her recall, Nabben had written herself out of the running, as she concedes to “not [being] the whore type”. However, when her teacher told the girls of the core innocence Annabella is known for, with the command to “wear your white dresses to the audition”, Nabben knew she was in with a chance.

While openly admitting that she excels when playing the “pure, innocent, young Juliet character”, it was within the first rehearsal that she realised that director, Marion Potts (also The Malthouse’s new Artistic Director), expected so much more from her realisation of Annabella.

“On the first day we were running through a scene and we came to the end and she said, ‘well that was your Juliet version now let me see more. That was too polite, now be a bitch!’ I remember doing the scene again and thinking, ‘oh my God, I was horrible!

Though her future, like anyone’s, could hold anything, Nabben is just pleased to be right where she is.

“I am so happy to be here right now. I am just so sad that I won’t be doing it one day. When this finishes I might be working in a bar, I might doing TV, who knows?”

Click here for Laneway’s review of ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore.