This week we have been treated with six performances by Scena Mundi, giving us Shakespeare’s Richard II and Marlowe’s Edward II, parked together under the title ‘Seize the Crown’
In Richard II, performed in period dress, we were shown the weak and capricious Richard whose arrogance and greed seals his own fate, isolating himself and eventually being deposed by Bolingbroke, the clever and just son of the late wise John of Gaunt.
Though some of the audience were a wee bit lost during the first half, everyone was gripped during the second half, giving the actors a well deserved applause for their faultless performance.
In Edward II, by contrast, was set in the 1980s. Upon hearing this I must admit I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but any doubt quickly fled as soon as it started. The performance had drama from the out set, telling us the sorrowful demise of King Edward at the hands of his wife and her lover, the power hungry villain Mortimer. As with Richard II, the nobility and Edward are at odds, resulting in drama and death. All this in contemporary punk-like dress and to 80s rock; and unlikely but brilliant match which suited this play perfectly, once again receiving hearty applause.
We cannot thank Scena Mundi enough for the joy they have given us with their performances this week, as well as their appearance in our carnival procession and I am personally thankful to them for introducing me to the world of theatre.