Inspired by Sir John Gielgud's one-man show, "The Ages of Man," British film and stage star Susannah York thought, "Why not an 'Ages of Women?' " Her one-woman show, "The Loves of Shakespeare's Women," is just that. York performs speeches from 15 of Shakespeare's women, recites three of the more famous sonnets, and tells us about the life and career that led her to performing Shakespeare.
She uses love as the link among all of the women: romantic love, love of power, of pleasure, returned love, misplaced love, unrequited love, and love that turns bitter. She plays the youthful Juliet discovering love for the first time, and Beatrice, hurt by love, mocking men. She is Lady Macbeth giving her husband an ultimatum, and both the Mistresses Page and Ford laughing over the same love letter from the elderly rake Sir John Falstaff. She is the inconstant Cressida, followed by the faithful Ophelia, reported on by Gertrude, who has died for love. And she is fully in command as Queen Margaret in "Henry VI, Part 3."
York's voice seems to have deepened and mellowed since we last saw her onscreen. Her personal charm and wit are still much in evidence. In these stage roles, she demonstrates her chameleonlike technique. The show's one failing is that the women aren't varied enough. There is a sameness to the excerpts. As York herself reminds us, these roles were originally played by boy actors. To some extent, there is not the same variety as in Shakespeare's male characters.
Although there is no intermission, York pauses for a costume change as she proceeds from the ingénue roles to the mature women. She is aided by Kishan Khana's setting, with its medieval tapestries and candelabra. The lute music soundtrack transports us back to the English Renaissance.