Thomas Middleton’s 17th century play The Revenger’s Tragedy is a story of power and revenge set in an Italian court. The story follows the fate of a man who swears to avenge his lover’s rape and murder, stopping at nothing to achieve his aim. Written in difficult verse, and with a convoluted plot line and quite divisive content (rape, torture, and every type of “icide” you can think of) this is a tough one to approach, to say the least. Maybe Lazarus Theatre Company should be praised for taking it on at all, in their new adaptation at the Jack Studio. Unfortunately theatrical bravery does not a good production make.
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