Now playing

By John Ford
Directed by Melissa Hillman
May 2–June 7 | Thu–Sat 8pm
Directions

We close out our season with the classic slot—but this time it’s John Ford, not Shakespeare: we live up to our “feisty” reputation (San Francisco Chronicle) with our production of Ford’s ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore. Giovanni and Annabella are in love—trouble is, they're brother and sister. Worse, Annabella becomes pregnant. Trying to conceal the scandal, Annabella marries one of her many suitors, Soranzo, but he discovers that she's already pregnant. Then things really get nasty: revenge, double-crosses, murder. Artistic Director Melissa Hillman directs this down-and-dirty tale of incest and bloodshed.

The reviews

The Berkeley Daily Planet calls our production "great theatre, suspense, and cruel action that surpass mere melodrama.... Keeping it clear and close to the text, and moving right along, [director Melissa Hillman] gets consistently good performances.... As siblings turned lovers, Marissa Keltie and John Terrell...come through where it counts, with a sense of the transcendental drive Artaud talked about, hellbent and implacable."

The East Bay Express declares, "Impact's 'Tis Pity is an incestuous romp.... Marissa Keltie has a marvelously expressive face that makes each emotion palpable and infectious, whether she's embodying horror, amusement, young lust, or despair."

The SF Weekly says, "This Whore is good filthy fun.... Impact Theatre's production is just as cheerfully sleazy as its source material.... [T]he fights are scrappy, the deaths are messy, and the cast members are young, attractive, and eager to rip off each other's clothes.... [Jai Sahai] is such a font of rapid-fire comic invention that the world will be a slightly darker place if he doesn't achieve some form of major stardom."

Watch the trailer

Who's in it?

'Tis Pity features returning Impact actors Miyuki Bierlein (this season’s Money & Run), Sarah Coykendall (Measure for Measure), John Ferreira (Othello, Hamlet), Marissa Keltie (Measure, Othello, Sleepy, Cartoon), Warden Lawlor (Money & Run), John Terrell (Sleepy), and Seth Thygesen (Measure, Money & Run, Sleepy), as well as newcomers Robert Bergin, Mayra Gaeta, Mary Ann Mackey, Kendra Oberhauser, Harold Pierce, Jai Sahai, and Tim Redmond. Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Dave Maier choreographs the fights.

Planning on seeing 'Tis Pity? Let us know!