Savage Rose Stages Reading of Marlowe's 'Edward II'

Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company ends their season Sunday with Christopher Marlowe’s “Edward II.” The company will present a staged reading of the Elizabethan history play as part of their Words, Words, Words play reading series. Savage Rose Theatre Company’s focus is on classical theatrical works, from the Greeks to modern classics like Samuel Beckett, with an emphasis on the text and its language. Artistic director Barrett Cooper says staged readings help the company present work by playwrights like Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare’s, in a casual and accessible format. “We try to show people this language is just as alive now as it was back then,” says Cooper. “Also to try to tell people, you know, not everybody back in Shakespeare’s day or the Jacobean’s day or even in the Greeks got every single word. They weren’t meant to.” “Edward II” is one of the earliest English history plays. First performed in 1594, it tells the sensational story of an early 14th century Plantagenet king of England whose brief reign was marked by scandal, including Edward’s long-standing sexual affair with another man. “Everybody knew about it, including his wife,” says Cooper. “She had another lover and eventually had her son Edward III crowned king, and the father arrested for treason. While in prison, he was murdered by his wife and her lover and people they suborned to do it.” The reading will be held at Walden Theatre on Sunday. Savage Rose will open its next season in September with “Macbeth.”