Three big daddies of English renaissance drama were under the microscope this week in The Factory.



The language of Shakespeare, Marlow and Webster certainly leave very different tastes in the mouth. For example; our friend and dutiful servant of blank verse, the iambic pentameter, seems to clunk against Marlowes stark and direct offerings in Edward the Second whilst complimenting Shakespeares urgent lusty meanderings in Sonnet 129.



Why? What can we do about it?



The iambic is an invaluable tool in the exploration of such texts but perhaps we should not lean so heavily on this gift and neglect the importance of context and character in discovering logic and truth. In giving the sonnet a context and the actor an objective we found that the text is exposed to a listener far more than a diligent readers slavish dedication to the iambic. Although a marriage between the two, a marriage between head and heart, is perhaps the ultimate goal for us all.



Marriage issues and power struggles in the court of Marlow's Edward II took us to examine the fragility of the Divine right when faced with dissent and disapproval. Power is attributed by those around you, and when that wavers the ship can sink rapidly. The juxtaposition of very private affairs very publicly declaimed seemed to compliment Marlowe's cold text. Our Queens speech after the death of Princess Diana, forced in front of the camera by the mob baying for an official response, sprang to mind...



It's probably a big ask to pin point what could be done with the rhythms to remedy the technical issues faced when handling very different texts. Especially in three hours and we barely touched Webster. So I'm sure the establishment will be relieved to know that we haven't quite figured it out yet but The Factory will let them know when they're ready to overthrow hundreds of years of theatrical tradition!

Gemma Johnson