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gillothen's review
4.0
"The last great tragedy of the Jacobean/Caroline era" (M. Wiggins.) Indeed it is. The play flows smoothly, with terrific set-pieces, including two massacres, the obligatory mad scene, and death by poisoning, yet is fresh and new, not just another "Hamlet" rip-off. The setting - Navarre at war with Aragon is not terribly important, but the sinister Cardinal and his nephew face up against our heroine and hero with ultimately catastrophic effects. The female lead, Rosaura, a dowager duchess, has significant autonomy too. There are inevitable echoes of Shakespeare and Webster, but this stands on its own as a powerful play about obsession and corruption.
Read as part of the REP online readathon of the King's Men repertoire, now reaching the end of 1641 and thus close to the closure of the theatres.
Read as part of the REP online readathon of the King's Men repertoire, now reaching the end of 1641 and thus close to the closure of the theatres.
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