Review of the RSC's The Jew of Malta 

This is Justin Audibert’s directorial debut at the RSC and boy it’s good! Christopher Marlowe’s dark comedic tale of anti-semitism has not been reinvented nor transplanted to the modern day; it has just been directed and acted really, really well. It's a feisty, energetic couple of hours full of twisted delight!

This is a fascinating and fantastic production of Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta and I hope it indicates that there will be more Marlowe productions to come at the RSC, especially if they're all as dazzling as this one. Marlowe has long been overlooked in favour of Shakespeare but this play proves that we may have had misplaced favourites for a long time.

Nothing has been done in an innovative, shocking way but because Audibert’s take was evidently just to do it well, the play leaps off the stage. The already present humour in Marlowe’s writing shines through illuminating the anti-semitism and anti-Islam messages therein. And by ridiculing the Christian priests who also feature, Audibert shows that all religions have their flawed advocates and that none is superior to the other. A real equalizer which is a pleasure to watch in action and an approach which I have not witnessed in any of the productions I've seen before.

The Machiavellian elements of Barabas’ approach to life appear particularly keenly but I'm not sure why they stand out so much here. The play’s prologue delivered by Machiavelli is included but nothing unusual can be said of the delivery for me to attribute the prominence of this theme in this production of the play. Maybe it's because no one is left unridiculed for their faults that the play seems so savage and, as such, so Machiavellian? They all seem to get their just desserts in the most repugnant, gruesome, violent and hilarious of ways. Making you feel at once sympathetic for their plight as well as delighted to see them fail one by one. You are also so wrapped up in Barabas’ story that you hope for his success even when he commits the most horrid of deeds.

The set is simple but effective, at all times involving the use of stone effect steps which dominate the back of the stage. They are used to particularly humorous effect as the play reaches its conclusion when the body of a dead priest is propped sitting upright in order to trick another character.  

The use of traditional Jewish music is a very effective framework focusing the audience’s attention on the anti-semitism that dominates the play as well as the sixteenth-century.

Barabas, as played by Jasper Britton, is wicked, dark, clever, and also seductive. You're on his side no matter how much you don't want to be as you see each of his cruel acts unfold. Ithamore, his slave and later companion in mischief, is brilliant. He matches Britton’s energy and excitement tenfold and the pair seem to be stuck in a vicious never ending spiral of revenge and murder. To counter Barabas’ malevolence, there is the sweetness of his daughter Abigail, played by Catrin Stewart. She converts to Christianity after learning of the wickedness of her father. She is ultimately just, fair, good and principled (in her own way) but she is treated as wicked, dirty scum by the other Christian characters in the play revealing the hypocrisy of their religion as well as the shallowness. Love thy neighbour apparently does not extend to the members of other religions.

As a final note, whilst no new ground is trod here, the effect is of a new light being shone on Christopher Marlowe. Let's hope that with the success and popularity of this play new theatregoers will be introduced to the genius of his writing and that some of Shakespeare’s limelight will be re-directed on to poor, nearly forgotten Kit.