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| Alan Rickman at the Rose Theatre for the Genius of Christopher Marlowe
Traduzione a cura di Giulia NerucciReview of The Genius of Christopher Marlowe
"Time Travel at the Rose"
by Coco Hall for remotegoat on 04/08/09
Fans of the history of theatre and/or archaeology are in for a treat at The Rose Theatre on Bankside, with a new film that shows how Marlowe's plays would have looked to a contemporary audience.
The Rose Theatre was the first Elizabethan theatre on Bankside and was the place where many of Shakespeare's and Marlowe's first productions were produced. Two-thirds of the original foundations have been excavated and protected under a layer of water in an eerie, musty Wookie Hole-like cavern, in the unlikely spot under a modern office block.
The Rose Theatre Trust is now engaged in raising funds to excavate the remaining third and to make the site a permanent display as an educational and historical resource for the public to learn from and enjoy, this film will raise funds to aid the effort.
The 35-minute film features extracts from all of Marlowe's plays, performed by a stellar cast of British acting royalty including Ian McKellen, Alan Rickman, Frances Barber, Shaun Parkes, Joseph Fiennes, Kevin R McNally, Antony Sher and Harriet Walter, with voiceovers from Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi, who all donated their time for free. Particularly notable are Antony Sher's extracts from 'Dr Faustus' the timeless story of a man who sold his soul to the devil, Joe Fiennes as a young King Edward in 'Edward the second', and Harriet Walter's impassioned widow in 'Tamburlaine the Great I' - although all performances are of the high standard you would expect from this line-up.
The film was conceived and designed by set designer William Dudley, who also designed the existing on-site exhibition, devised by Robert Pennant Jones and directed by Paul Marcus.
There has been much speculation over the years about the identity and lives of the Elizabethan's two greatest dramatists. Some suggest that Shakespeare and Marlowe may have been the same person, and that Marlowe in fact invented the blank verse form that Shakespeare subsequently made his own. Anyone who has seen 'Shakespeare in love' will know that Marlowe and Shakespeare were possibly rivals, but whatever the truth of the story, what really astounds is the language of Marlowe is still so fresh and vibrant, as epitomized by the last extract, a love poem read by Judi Dench 'The Passionate Shepherd to His Love'.
The actors appear on the digitally created Rose stage, sometimes in Elizabethan costume, sometimes in modern dress, sometimes with a digitally enhanced audience, sometimes without.
If there are any complaints, it's that the film at times looks a bit lo-to-no budget (as indeed it is) and sometimes the digital technology's visual quality is low, however this is a laudable effort to show how the Elizabethans would have experienced theatre in this truly atmospheric and magical space.
An added bonus is the optional after-show discussion from the knowledgeable and enthusiatic Rose team, who talk a little about the history and plans for the site.
Event Venues & Times
finished The Rose Theatre | 56 Park Street, Bankside, SE1 9HS
Edited by chiara53 - 25/6/2022, 18:18
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