The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster, Directed by Beth Burns for The Hidden Room, York Rite Masonic Hall, Austin TX, Sept 27 – Oct 20, 2019, reviewed on October 20, 2019 (www.hiddenroomtheatre.com). Reviewed by James Loehlin, University of Texas The Duchess of Malfi extends the Hidden Room Theatre’s project of marshalling historical performance techniques for potent contemporary […]
The Provoked Wife by John Vanbrugh, directed by Phillip Breen, at the RSC, Stratford upon Avon, May 2019. Or, Why good comedy takes time. Reviewed by Lucia Deyi, University of Birmingham. With a running time that scares most audiences even if they are used to Shakespeare performances, the RSC’s current production of The Provoked Wife has […]
A Warning for Fair Women, Directed by Brent Griffin, Resurgens Theatre Company, Atlanta, GA, USA. November 20, 2018. Reviewed by Meg F. Pearson, University of West Georgia Southern enthusiasts of non-Shakespearean drama enjoy an embarrassment of riches from the Resurgens Theatre Company. The company is devoted to original productions and the verse dramas of Shakespeare’s […]
Volpone by Ben Jonson, directed by Brent Griffin, Curtain Theater, Austin, Texas, 25 March, 2018. Reviewed by Michael Saenger Ben Jonson’s particular brand of moral satire suits the times. There are no heroes in Volpone, though Celia and Bonario have, at least, the moral character to qualify for valor, if not the psychological breadth that […]
The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster, directed by Maria Aberg, RSC, Swan Theatre, 8 March 2018 Reviewed by Peter Malin I hadn’t intended to review this production but, given its enthusiastic reception in the press, I thought a dissenting voice might be of some value. In 2014, Maria Aberg inflicted considerable damage on Webster’s […]
The Dutch Lady, directed by Robert Ball for FRED theatre, at the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford upon Avon, 6/7 2017. Reviewed by Sara Marie Westh It is an unusual treat, and a privilege, for any early modernist to watch a play that has not been acted for more than three centuries – not to mention reviewing […]
The Cardinal by James Shirley, directed by Justin Audibert for Troupe at Southwark Playhouse, 2 May 2017 Reviewed by Peter Malin References to the play are to James Shirley, The Cardinal, ed. by E. M. Yearling, Revels Plays Series (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1986) Conventionally-staged productions of early modern plays, in period costume, have […]
Tamburlaine by Christopher Marlowe. Adapted and directed by Ng Choon Ping for Yellow Earth Theatre at the Old Fire Station, Oxford, 13 April 2017. Reviewed by Peter Malin All textual references are to Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great: Parts I and II, ed. by John D. Jump, Regents Renaissance Drama Series (London: Arnold, 1967). […]
Edward II by Christopher Marlowe. Directed by Charlotte Vickers for Oxford University Dramatic Society et al., Oxford Playhouse, 28 January 2017. Reviewed by Peter Malin References to the play are to Christopher Marlowe, Edward the Second, ed. by Martin Wiggins and Robert Lindsey, New Mermaids, 2nd edn (London: A. & C. Black, […]
