By Keith Kreitman

Theater review

Peter Whelan’s “Herbal Bed” is beautifully written in language neither too Shakespearean nor too modern. William Shakespeare’s powerful presence hovers over the play, however, since it centers around his daughter Susanna.

As recently staged by Palo Alto Players, the play grew on me - after a slow start - as a tender and wise exploration of a woman’s role in Elizabethan England.

“Bed” takes place in 1613. According to historical records, Susanna was accused of adultery and suffered from a sexually transmitted disease. She then sued for slander in an Ecclesiastical Court.

In the first act, Susanna has a problem. She admires her husband John Hall, a respected physician in Stratford-upon-Avon, but does not love him. One of their best friends, Rafe Smith, doesn’t love his wife, who may have gone a bit daft after losing two children. Rafe, however, is attracted to Susanna, and the feeling is mutual.

What would have happened if they had not been interrupted by the return of her servant in the first act? We would not have the far more interesting second act, which predates former President Bill Clinton’s parsing of words and tiptoeing around the definition of carnal knowledge.

If you hadn’t fallen asleep in the talky first act, you would be up for the second. The play becomes a tense and gripping thriller, as the animal urges of physical love are pitted against the rigid rules of religion, with questions about the nature of truth, God and love.

Preparing for the Bishop’s Court, Susanna pragmatically rearranges words and facts to suit her version of what happened. In the riveting courtroom scene, facts melt into fiction and questions of conscience, honor and truth are faced.

The cast, directed by Vickie Rozell, was uniformly excellent. Mark Messersmith was brilliant as the Vicar General, relentless in his piercing cross-examination of the principals.

As Susanna, Sara Betts exuded a self-confident persona and forceful creative intelligence that must have been rare in such a male-dominated era.

Accuser Jack Lane, the lascivious, spoiled son of wealth and a medical apprentice dismissed by Susanna’s husband, was the play’s most intriguing male character. Zach Gossett played this amoral character with the engaging flair of a swashbuckling Errol Flynn. He was actually hard to dislike.

Ray Renati was impressive in the role of John, a man too kind and sincere for Susanna to hate and too bland to arouse much passion.

Earle Carlson made the best of his thankless role of Rafe Smith, “the other guy.” He suffers terrible conscience pangs about his treatment of his wife and potential betrayal of his friend John.

Nina Breton was perfect in her role of faithful servant Hester Fletcher, who needs to dissemble in her loyalty to her mistress. In a smaller role, Henry J. Sellenthin was believable as Bishop Parry, frustrated by the loss of so many of his powers.