Michael Boyd’s production of Tamburlaine written by Christopher Marlowe is an unrelenting journey into the darkness and greed that drives people’s desire for power. If you are a fan of Game of Thrones you will thoroughly enjoy what could have provided inspiration for that addictive show.
The cast as a whole is refreshingly diverse combining cultures, accents and non-rigid gender roles.
The strength and diversity of the cast ensure that the audience, whatever your interests, do not grow restless as at 2 hours and 55mins (with a 20min interval) it is quite a production. The main character Tamburlaine is played by Jude Owusu who completely inhabits the cold, focused, power driven personality of Tamburlaine.
Having seen the production it becomes clear why in an interview with Afridiziak Jude said ‘I was scared because I knew I was going to have to go there.’ Go there he did, the Jude I had interviewed weeks before was transformed into this character which would be the Mr Hyde to Jude’s Dr Jekyll. The cast as a whole is refreshingly and naturally diverse combining cultures, accents and non-rigid gender roles which, for me, added an extra dimension and helped to transport the audience to another time and place.
Tamburlaine is extremely good and will leave you with much food for thought as well as just thoroughly entertained
Tamburlaine is loosely based on the historical figure Timur who came to infamy following the death of Genghis Khan as he sought to gain power over the territories now left vulnerable. Plays like this bring history to life and stir interest in the audience to go and learn more about these periods in history that still impact upon us today. These points in history also draw parallels with current moments in time showing us that in fact people do not learn from the mistakes and violence of our history and human nature really hasn’t progressed very much in terms of power and greed or our respect (or lack thereof) for humanity.
Tamburlaine is extremely good and will leave you with much food for thought as well as just thoroughly entertained! Tamburlaine will be at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford upon Avon until 1 December, I strongly recommend you do not miss this.
