Dramsoc presents: Edward II
Edward II, 14th century King of England, is one of those historical personalities to whom fate has dealt great misfortune; that of having a large part of fame rest on the extreme and bizarre nature of his death. He is on a par with Joan of Arc, or with Catherine the Great’s famous passing away whilst in ‘intimacy’ with a horse; Edward II is forever doomed to be known as the King who died by a far too close an encounter with a red-hot poker in, shall we say, rather unlikely circumstances. However, this fact, though the one most likely to stick in one’s mind, is but the culmination of an intriguing and tragic life story - one of the more interesting episodes in the centuries old soap operas that is the British monarchy. The source of Edward’s woes lay in his intense love and favouritism for a certain French knight, one Piers de Gaveston. The ensuing resentment and hostility of the nobility eventually escalated into civil war during which Gaveston was murdered and the King imprisoned. A tale to make the troubles of the modern day Royal Family pale in comparison.
The story certainly seemed to greatly inspire Elizabeth playwright, spy and multipurpose rogue, Christopher Marlowe, into writing a play of epic and poetic brilliance. It is this play which we will be proud to bring to Imperial College Union’s Concert Hall this month.
We have taken great pains to present the play in a modern context, modernising the issues, costumes, characters and situations but keeping the beauty of the original language intact. This of course presents the director with many challenges - how do you present a script in a modern context which makes frequent references to swords, Bannockburn and the King of France? All three of which are... well, a bit outdated really. The key lies, of course, in not taking the modernisation too literally. We are not seriously suggesting that such a civil war could happen in contemporary Britain. But there are certain allegories to drawn, as with any truly classic work, that make Edward II of great interest to the late 20th century viewer
