It was possibly the first professional production ever in the Western United States. None of the actors had ever acted in or seen a production of the play. It was a thrilling adventure to discover it in the company of actors who love Elizabethan theatre. And, I thought it was actually really important and exciting. So I dusted off my college textbook, and found this play. Hey, when you’re on a roll with incredibly unpopular Elizabethan titles, you’ve got to ride the wave. However, after audiences reacted so positively to KING JOHN, and - while it didn’t draw as many people as one of the most popular comedies, it did better than expected in terms of audience numbers - it seemed like a great time to reconsider THE SPANISH TRAGEDY. But little known plays by practically unknown Elizabethan playwrights don’t immediately correlate with box office success, so we never really took seriously the idea of staging the play. Over the past 15 years or so, I’d mention it every so often when were were choosing a season. And I vaguely remembered that it was a revenge tragedy. I vaguely remembered that I’d learned it was important and exciting. I read this play in college in a class called “Other Elizabethan and Jacobean Playwrights” and for years I had a nagging feeling that I wanted to produce it. (with a few scenes probably written by William Shakespeare)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |