Tamburlaine, RSC Stratford Upon Avon, 5*****; Rod Dungate
Stratford Upon Avon
Tamburlaine: Christopher Marlowe
5*****
RSC, The Swan
Runs 3h, 20m, One interval: till 1 December
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Review: Rod Dungate, 27 August 2018
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A great revelation
Michael Boyd has achieved an astounding achievement with this Marlowe production. Who’d have ever thought Tamburlaine could be so totally thrilling?
The Renaissance playwrights were an intriguing bunch – frequently forward thinking, radical, frequently in trouble with the law. Marlowe was a real subversive – bringing the relationship between Edward and Gaveston to the fore in Edward , presenting a Jew as a decent, honest individual in Jew of Malta. So why, you may ask (I do) did Marlowe write two plays extolling the career of a 14th Century rampaging monster?
In his production, Michael Boyd answers that question. But he’s taken a firm hand with the plays first. He put them on a diet and sent them off to the gym. Back they come as one play, full of energy, with language that is like bricks but sparkles like diamonds; and really muscular – how they must have worked out!
In Marlowe’s version, Tamburlaine’s rise from shepherd to the greatest ruler on earth (greater in Tamburlaine’s own mind than God) is told with breath-taking speed. Rulers stand and fall, their crowns are bartered, stolen, given away as prizes. But as Tamburlaine’s empire grows so he becomes crueller and crueller to maintain his grip. He carries out acts of unspeakable cruelty. So that more crowns, like pass-the-parcel can be handed on. Great battles are spoken of, thousands are killed or executed – men, women, children. But we never see this, Marlowe’s focus is on the Game of Crowns – or should we call it The Game of Throes.
Here we see Marlowe’s point. The killing, the waste of human life is about . . . nothing. What is nationhood? – Nothing. There is personal vanity, greed and a desire for power. Put Marlowe’s play in the context of Elizabethan England, with its struggle for nationhood, with its battles for the throne and we see Marlowe’s subversion. Put his play in the context of the wars around the globe today and we see the play still speaks, even shouts, for us today.
Boyd handles all these complexities with superb ease. His production moves at a cracking pace but his marvellous company have taken Marlowe’s language on board. We do not miss a word, not a single word. Tom Piper’s sparce setting shares this muscular style, and the whole is punctuates and supported with a terrific percussive score from James Jones. At certain moment, the actors, with great skill, shift gear slightly in their speaking and their verse becomes part of the percussion ensemble. The effete is astounding.
This is a large and diverse company; the joy with which they work is tangible. Jude Owusu carries the role of Tamburlaine with ease. He is sensitive to all the character’s tones and is physically powerful.
In Marlowe’s version, what does Tamburlaine achieve? As in life, he dies. And that rather makes Marlowe’s point.
Magnetes / Capolin / Amyras: Salman Aktar
Bajazeth / Trebizon: Sagar I M Arya
Ceneus / Argier / Calyphas: Raj Bajaj
Persian Courtier / Natolian Messenger: Shamia Chalabi
Menaphon / Morocco / Jerusalem: James Clyde
Celebinus / Persian Soldier: Anton Cross
Agydas / Arabia / Orcanes: Ralph Davis
Ortygius / Frederick / Tunis / Captain: Ross Green
Mycetes / Soldan / Almeda / Amasia: Mark Hadfield
Anippe / Olympia: Zainab Hasan
Kasap: Naveed Khan
Zabina / Syria: Debbie Korley
Zenocrate / Callapine: Rosy McEwen
Tamburlaine: Jude Owusu
Mycetes’ Spy / Persian Soldier: Sam Pay
Usumcasane: Riad Richie
Techelles: David Rubin
Persian Courtier / Ebea / First Virgin: Vivienne Smith
Cosroe / Fez / Sigismund: David Sturzaker
Persian Courtier / Second Virgin: Yasmin Taheri
Meander / Basso / Baldwin / Perdicas: James Tucker
Theridamas: Edmund Wiseman
Director: Michael Boyd
Designer: Tom Piper
Lighting: Colin Grenfell
Music: James Jones
Sound: Claire Windsor
Movement: Liz Ranken
Fight Director: Terry King
Photo by Ellie Kurtz © RSC