Founded in 1907, the Marlowe holds tradition in high
regard. This year, however, the Marlowe Society is turning its traditions
around. As a society dedicated to preserving verse as a theatrical form, it has
chosen to depart from convention and instead of reviving old verse drama, this
year it is putting on two modern plays. The first is the world premiere of the
Australian poet John Kinsella's debut play, Crop
Circles, and the second is Caryl Churchills's Serious Money.
These are very different plays in verse, and by supporting writers of modern
verse drama the Marlowe is hoping to bring new life to this ancient theatrical
tradition.
The international hit Serious Money established Caryl
Churchill as one of the most powerful and innovative satirists of our time. Set
amongst the world of champagne, stock exchange swindles and big business, it
remains her best-known comedy a blistering attack on the selfishness and greed
of the city.
City dealer Jake Todd is found shot dead. He has been
implicated in an insider trading scandal and his death is widely believed to be
suicide. His sister Scilla, also a dealer, thinks differently. As the nature of
Jake’s crimes become apparent, her defiant pursuit of his killers becomes
a voracious hunt for the millions he has illegally made.
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"A play about the stock exchange, Eurobonds and white knights
set in the fashion pit of Hell that we fondly know as the late eighties. The
play centres around the mysterious death of a young, insider-dealing
stock-broker, and at times feels like a bad 1930's detective novel - I half
expected the bloke with the brash American accent to say something along the
lines of "Why did she pick my office to walk into. She said her husband wanted
her dead..." But he didn't.
The
set was truly excellent, and the costumes were perfectly
horrific. Dan Smith excelled in the role of Corman, and Judith Boyce was
extremely funny (if a bit too Victoria Wood-esque) as Biddulph. Special mention
must be made of Rena Morjaria; although she did not have a huge role, her
portrait of an eighties PR woman was outstanding - it is a shame she did not
have a larger part. There was a lot of talent, both on stage and off, and that
was extremely evident. Although a lot of the scenes didn't quite work, and the
plot became slightly tedious, nothing must be taken away from the people
involved in this production." Varsity, 5th March |
