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:

5 June 2008

Trevor Nunn made his name with The Revenger's Tragedy at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1966. Twenty years later, another RSC revival with Antony Sher playing the title role of Vindice confirmed the glittering grand guignol of the Jacobean story, full of carnal, bloody and unnatural acts. On the both occasions, the author was Cyril Tourneur.

Today, however, academic opinion has settled the authorship on Thomas Middleton, although the programme notes for Melly Still’s flamboyant production in the Travelex £10 ticket scheme carry no explanation. Instead, there is a rather strained comparison of Middleton with John Osborne, as if there was a direct link between Vindice and Jimmy Porter. Well, yes and no.

As Rory Kinnear has already been announced as a future Hamlet at the National, his Vindice can be more easily seen as a warm-up for that role, and although he manages the fireworks and bitter humour well enough, the dark, warped centre of the moralistic reven...

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Latest User Review

Kevin McD - 14 August 2008:

An unmitigated disaster, how could the so called 'professional' critics be so taken in? Not generally one for conspiracy theories, I have come to believe that, with the odd exception to try and fool us, there is a pact to praise NT productions in the press; the so called reviewer of the Sunday Times being a prime example. Rory Kinnear, in bad mop wig at the opening, goes into camp queen mode after whipping it off for his assumed personas - he's an actor I generally like so I'm going to blame the pathetic director/direction and presume he's just doing as he's told. I really agree with the comment below about the 'Ladybird Book of Raunchy Directing', simulated rape/bare bum/tits/unconvincing on-stage wank don't shock (or stimulate) these days but rather provoke yawns - grow up Ms Still. An evening the NT should be thoroughly ashamed of....

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