There can be few plays that better warrant the description of bodice-ripping. A Chaste Maid In Cheapside positively heaves with copulating couples in the throes of passion for lust, avarice, status – anything frankly except love itself. Corsets heave, wine flows and, amidst the hell-raising hedonism, the evocatively-named Sir Walter Whorehousend (Angus King) sizes up his next conquest. She is the pretty and principled Moll Yellowhammer (Jessica Ellerby) who only has eyes for the penniless but chivalrous Touchwood Junior (Sandy Bachelor). Theirs is seemingly the only relationship of virtue in Middleton’s sneering portrayal of a decadent and licentious 17th Century London – like a Hogarth painting lived out on stage. Dated dialogue However, Middleton’s comedy is somewhat lost on a 21st century audience - much of it tied up in laborious wordplay.
The wet-behind-the-ears Tim Yellowhammer (David Oakes) is engaged in perhaps one too many jokes in the Latin language on his return from Cambridge, although his gradual corruption throughout the drama is most enjoyable to watch. Along with this, the text needed swingeing cuts, as the dialogue (especially that of
Allwit) was often long and unwieldy. The interval was reached with no real advancement of the plot, save the introduction of a myriad of colourful characters and plenty of Little Britain-esque cross-dressing, in a party scene that gave a good impression of what the more debauched hen nights would have been like, if they were indeed around when King James was upon the throne. Some scenes really shone. The appearance of two meat inspectors dressed like Government scientists on the hunt for bird flu gave this period drama a sharp contemporary edge. The flirtation between Maudlin Yellowhammer (Emma Clifford) and the Cambridge Tutor (Neil Jennings) raised a few chuckles and the cyclical mating, fighting and then making-up of the Irish Kix couple was beautifully absurd. Cubby holes As usual the students gave what they were given their all, on and off-stage. The costumes and set were a three-course meal for the eyes with particular attention-to-detail in conjuring Yellowhammer’s goldsmiths’ premises with glass and metalware on display in neat cabinets. Set designer Anna Finch managed to conjure up all sorts of nooks and crannies for trysts within the confines of the studio space, as couples spilled out of cupboards and wardrobes as well as lounging in and on top of an impressive four-poster. It's just a shame that the stage decoration and considerable energy from the cast could not breathe life back into a comedy which lost much of its mirth years ago. | 
