Photo by Eric Chazankin. Elena Wright as Bellimperia in The Spanish Tragedy
Lesley Schisgall Currier directs the West Coast Premiere of The Spanish Tragedy (1587) by Thomas Kyd which is credited as the original Elizabethan revenge tragedy. In introducing this type of revenge play to the stage, Kyd did tremendous service. He paid very close attention to the weaving of his scenes. This play is thought to have served as inspiration for Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Titus Andronicus. Many elements of The Spanish Tragedy such as the play-within-a-play used to trap a murderer and a ghost intent on vengeance, appear in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
This Marin Shakespeare Company’s production is so well written and performed that it can teach us all a lesson in passion, revenge and rage. The plot of this play provides an attempted alliance between Spain and Portugal, haunting ghosts, murder, love and it all culminates in a dramatic end with a play-within-a-play.
Before the play begins, the Viceroy of Portugal (Jack Powell) has rebelled against Spanish rule. A battle has taken place in which the Portuguese were defeated and their leader, the Viceroy’s son, Balthazar (Liam Hughes) was captured, but the Spanish officer, Andrea (Lucas Hatton) has been killed by none other than the captured Balthazar. Balthazar’s ghost and the spirit of Revenge (Julia Schulman) are present throughout the entire play and serve as chorus at the beginning of each act.
Director Lesley Currier counters the absurdities and excesses of the play with a necessary measure of dry humor and for the most part, manages a good balance as she builds to the climactic play-within-a-play.
Julian Lopez-Morillas plays Hieronimo, a judge who arranges royal entertainment. He is traumatized and driven nearly mad with grief after the murder of his son, Horatio (Erik Johnson) and seeks revenge on those who orchestrated it. Lopez-Morillas’ performance shifts from initial soft-voiced disbelief to the astonishing clarity of a man committed to his actions, however bloody the outcome.
Elena Wright is impressively dignified as Bellimperia, daughter of the Duke of Castille (Scott Coopwood) and lover of Horatio. Julian Lopez-Morillas gives a stupendous performance s Hieronimo, as does Dashiell Hillman as the villainous Lorenzo, son of the Duke of Castille, who is responsible for Horatio’s death.
It is a rare treat to see a play so important and influential as The Spanish Tragedy. Surprisingly, this play is rarely performed. Therefore, it is very special when it is done and done so beautifully.
The Spanish Tragedy runs July 12-August 11, 2013 at the Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, 890 Belle Avenue, Dominican University, San Rafael, CA. For tickets, call the box office at 415-499-4488 or go online at www.marinshakespeare.org.
Coming up next at Marin Shakespeare will be A Comedy of Errors from July 27-September 19, 2013, adapted and directed by Lesley Schisgall Currier and Robert Currier.
Flora Lynn Isaacson
