The discussion topic at the RSC this spring is uncompromising: anti-Semitism. The Merchant of Venice is still to come but before then we have Christopher Marlowe’s rarely performed The Jew of Malta (1590), the play which preceded it, and as presented here it’s quite some drama.
Director Justin Audibert makes an RSC debut of notable confidence, offering a lively and admirably clear reading of the text. He also elicits some of the sparkiest ensemble work Stratford has enjoyed in months for this seething clash of Muslim against Christian against Jew, as the might of the Ottomans eyeballs the Habsburg Empire.
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T S Eliot described the play as “Marlowe’s tragic farce” and while there’s little depth of character-isation, the narrative takes on a hurtling momentum as the Jew Barabas (Jasper Britton, in a wonder- fully full-throttle performance) schemes like a demented pantomime villain after his wealth is confiscated by the authorities. Barabas is cleverer than all the other characters put together, but given the anti-Semitism on the Maltese streets — he’s spat at in the marketplace — he needs to be.
Flashes of humour pop and fizzle, not least from Matthew Kelly as a camp friar, and as a bonus some of the nattiest hats seen on stage in years.
In rep until September 8 (0844 800 1110, rsc.org.uk)
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