The figure of the playwright Christopher Marlowe has always been associated with that of William Shakespeare, his contemporary and compatriot, both born in 1564. Leaving aside all the theses and legends surrounding the two characters, now the Teatre Akadèmia proposes an approach to one of his last works, Eduard II, based on the English king who shook his kingdom due to his loving friendship with Galvestone, a man of humble extraction.
For this purpose, Moreno Bernardi, an Italian director from Barcelona, has distilled Marlowe's text to build a succession of 55 scenes, with accentuated aesthetics and movement, which immerse the viewer in this story of forbidden love.
King Edward II wants it all: his kingdom, his lover and his queen, Elizabeth of France, however, as a good historical play, the intrigues of the palace will make everything go to waste.
The staging is surprising, with a high tone of voice and movement, with metaphorical images such as those represented by the figure of the actor who will later become the crown prince, and with a homosexual relationship that has already scandalized the viewers of the time, although it was not so explicit in the original work.
The assembly has been worked on with the entire creative team for a year at Lo Spazio, with the aim of achieving "a complex theatrical artifice, which combines, on the one hand, a specific performance system with respect to the aesthetics that is achieved, which it has to do with the language of the interpreters.”
“Bernardi treats the space and, in particular, the architecture of the theater as if it were a giant mind where ambition fights with itself and, at the same time, as a place where the minds of the characters can meet”, indicates the company .
“The work represents free love, the will to follow the hunches of the heart and, at the same time, the ambition to be a king and to do what you want. Eduardo wants it all: he wants to be with his mistress and keep the crown and the queen”, describes David Menéndez, who plays the king of the Plantagenet dynasty.
With him, Albert Díaz, Mònica Hernández, Òscar Castellví, Albert Muntané, Joan Llobera and Roger Sahuquillo form the team of seven actors who give life to the characters of this tragedy of inflamed and intoxicating aesthetics, with language play included by the queen Isabel.
The Teatre Akadèmia production can be seen in the theater on Calle Buenos Aires until June 5.
Catalan version, here
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