Edward II

Directed by Melee Hutton

If Christopher Marlowe had not been killed at 29 in a brawl, he might have become a more canonical playwright than Shakespeare. His Edward II is one of the greatest examples of the English history play: ostensibly factual, drawn from authoritative sources, but populated by characters as vividly drawn as those in any of the great tragedies of that age. Edward is a fascinating figure, caught between his impossible love for another man, a desire to rule as an absolute monarch, and an aristocratic class that curbs his will at every step. One of the most complex political plays in the repertoire, driven by what Ben Jonson called the “mighty line” of Marlowe’s inimitably punchy blank verse.