The Revenger's Tragedy

Synopsis

A tale of vengeance, violence and lust n the finest traditions of Jacobean tragedy. As he holds the skull of his beloved - who rejected the licentious old Duke’s advances and so was poisoned - Vindice plots the Duke’s grotesque murder. But in a court where adultery, rape and incest are the norm, his vengeance does not stop there. An orgy of ritualistic, even playful, bloodletting follows.

Our Review:

26 October 2012

Middleton's depraved and sticky mess of a play has here been well transplanted to the creaking beauty of a Hoxton Music Hall. Suba Das' vision of demented Victoriana, with sword-cane, white tie and masquerade trappings would have made the angry child of Jacobean playwrights smile more than anything except, perhaps, stabbing an orphan.

Tom Mothersdale's Vindice lives up to his name. The division between his hyper-stagey court persona and the darker, more withdrawn reality provides excellent watching, particularly when thrown into focus by Middleton's relentless asides. His lascivious (verbal) intercourse with Nana Amoo-Gottfried's Lussurioso is slick and sensical, which, of course, makes it all the sweeter when he tears out his eye in the closing scene.

Indeed, all the play's litany of violence is approached by all concerned with a particular relish suited to the time of year. The audience is afforded the happy opportunity to get up close and personal with a severe...

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