YOU probably don’t think much about oranges – juicy, full of vitamin C, useful in salads or with roast duck … But in a time before instant gratification and international food miles, oranges were a treat, an exotic delight to titillate the fancy and palate of the great, the (possibly) good and the wealthy. And if the oranges were being sold by pretty girls, the treat was all the more tantalising. So, enter Nell Gwyn, one of the most enchanting figures of the blood-stained and turbulent 17th century.

Born to a woman who ran a bawdy house, she became an orange seller in Covent Garden and caught the eyes of many well-connected men on their way to or from the theatre. In due course she moved from the theatre environs to the stage and here she caught the eyes of even more high-born men, none more so than the newly restored Stuart king, Charles II. Cue one of history’s most famous love affairs.

For many years, Somerset-based writer and composer Dominic Sandford has been mulling over the fascination of Nell’s story and planning to turn it into a stage show. Finally this year his dream has come true, with the world premiere of Nell: The Musical, in the beautiful grounds of Charlton House at Charlton Mackrell.

The challenge of open air performance in this country is usually all about the weather and it’s usually rain – we are used to carrying rugs and macs along with the chairs and picnic baskets to the various country house venues. This year it’s the heat – so congratulations to Dominic and his cast and crew for surviving the tropical temperatures of the final rehearsals, and the discomfort of period costumes and wigs.

The story opens at Madam Gwyn’s bawdy house. It’s the day the newly-restored, handsome young King Charles is carried through the welcoming streets of London. A young girl falls in front of his sedan chair. He gets out to help her up and his hat falls off. A spark is struck and Nell’s life  changes forever …

From this not obviously auspicious beginning, Nell makes her move, first to become an orange seller and then “talent-spotted” by dance and acting mentors Mr Lacy and Mr Hart, rapidly becoming the queen of the London stage, wooed by the uxorious Lord Buckhurst, admired by famous diarist Samuel Pepys, who called her “pretty, witty Nell” and finally led (through the back palace entrance) to a private meeting with the King.

The rest is pretty much history, although Dominic’s great affection for his heroine gives her perhaps a slightly more enduringly romantic relationship with the “merry monarch”. But it is true that she influenced her royal lover in many ways, and he did make their surviving son, 14 year old Charles Beauclerk, (he had no children with his actual wife) the Duke of St Albans. The King had already made the young Charles 1st Earl of Burford and both titles survive. Nell’s other son with the King died young.

This new musical has some delightful and entertaining scenes – the battling palace housekeeper Mrs Chiffinch and her pompous husband have a comic duet, and there is a similarly funny trio of the official royal mistresses, the French Louise de Kerouaille, the Italian Hortense Mancini and the English Barbara Villiers.

The large cast is headed by Georgina Sweet as Nell and Jordan Lee as King Charles II, with Belinda Morgan as Madam Gwyn, Tom Kenward as Samuel Pepys, Esmee Roach, Isobel Selwyn-Todd and Laurie Esse as the competitive mistresses and several other roles. All other cast members play several parts and it is a tribute to their acting and the director’s skill that you always know who they are!

The story also encompasses the horrific tragedy of the Great Fire of London, told with an exciting chorus, and the grand opening of one of Charles’s enduring memorials, the Royal Hospital Chelsea (home of the famous Pensioners.)

The music will delight fans of traditional musicals – you get nods to Lionel Bart, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and more – with hummable tunes and witty words by Dominic Sandford, who wrote the music and lyrics, and co-wrote the book with Bob Price, Julie Billing and Laurie Sandford. The director is Naomi Rose-Mock, the musical director is Laurie Esse and the nearly 100 costumes were designed by Gilly Kempton.

The Pudding Lane production, which takes place on 26th and 27th June, coincides with the 300th anniversary of Charlton House.

FC