’ ‘Tis Pity’ ‘Tis Both Comical and Sinister

John Ford’s 1627 play “ ‘tis Pity She’s a Whore” perverted Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” into a bloody tale of incestuous sibling love. Director James Gale sets a gently humorous tone for the comic scenes that sharply contrasts with the sinister main action, making this seem like two concurrent tales--one gritty and the other whimsical.

Annabella (Paula Malcomson) is first seen kneeling in what seems to be a metal cage. Stripped bare to the waist, she bathes herself as her brother, Giovanni (Jonathan Brent), lurks outside the steel mesh, gazing longingly inside.

Annabella is courted by a soldier (Paul Taylor Robertson), a nobleman (Mark St. Amant) and a foppish fool (Michael Faulkner). But she secretly becomes lovers with her brother, leaving a bloodstained white sheet as proof.

Ford plunges past this mild titillation to a gore fest that Gage unflinchingly stages. A foolish servant’s eyes are gouged. A frustrated lover carries his beloved’s bloody heart on a knife, making cruel irony of the loving lines he once uttered.

Under Gale, Faulkner’s innocent Bergetto, who finds guileless love with Philotis (Sarah May), seems out of place in this milieu of cruelty and heightened passion. The collision between these two worlds is unsettling.

Yet these light moments serve as a brief respite from the otherwise unrelenting horror. With its sympathetic portrayal of sibling incest and mostly unsympathetic characters, this isn’t an easy play to stage, nor is it one for the faint of heart.

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* “ ‘tis Pity She’s a Whore,” Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m., except Nov. 23; Nov. 5 and Nov. 19, 2 p.m. only. Ends Nov. 26. $19.50-$23.50. (310) 477-2055. Running time: 3 hours.