An ensemble of 30 young performers romp marvelously through Mike Punters clever new play on the fortunes and misfortunes of the Admirals Men and their writer, Christopher Kit Marlowe as they begin to challenge established Elizabethan conventions both on stage and off.
Via various scraps and a veritable cornucopia of eccentric and wonderfully colourful characters what follows is the telling of the first production of Marlowes plays that were to form the foundation of the Admirals Mens repertoire. Cutting a dark undercurrent through this raucous and witty story is the tale of Kit Marlowe himself - an insightful and tragic look into the rumours of treason and conspiracy that haunt his legacy.
The result is a full bodied and well constructed story encompassing comedy and tragedy which is done full and glorious justice by the Young Pleasance Company. The full cast is constantly present on stage making an attentive and watchful audience, completely focused on the players in each scene and bringing full and detailed performances to each one they take part in. This creates a wonderfully real landscape and highlights the amazing professionalism of this young company.
A hugely talented company, the principals are a particular pleasure to watch. Nick Waters Ned Allen is a bundle of theatrical innocence and earnest passion and Edmund Phillips as Jack Allen provides the perfect foil to his brother, filling the comedians role beautifully with admirable timing and a real talent for holding an audience. Matt Jessup as Phillip Henslowe also has a natural turn for comedy, delivering witheringly dry one liners in the midst of all this glitz and glamour. Alex Petrides and Neil Joseph are darkly menacing in their bullying of Kit Marlowe and play off one another beautifully and Jessica Austin succeeds in portraying Queen Elisabeths dark sense of humour and underlying loneliness with great aplomb.
Final mention must be made of Alex Woolfs petulant, stubborn, beautiful and desperately vulnerable Kit Marlowe. Woolfs charismatic crow dominates the stage both when he is on it and off. He makes Marlowe truly worthy of his Faust comparisons - tortured by demons and plagued with questions this is a beautifully delicate performance and one which promises big things of this actor.
The direction is pacy and each of the performers has a clear understanding of their text, making the slightly mannered English ring out truly. The only quibble I would have is with the slightly contrived romance between Joan Henslowe and Ned Allen. This is not given time to fully developed and seems simply there to counter the tragedy of Marlowe. The use of modern music at the beginning and during scene changes also grates because they seems to be trying too hard. It is obvious that there are parallels to be drawn with the young stars we see on the stage today and their spiritual ancestors and this does not need to be underlined so heavily through the use of My Generation. But these really are small descents and I believe that the admirable Young Pleasance Company have once again lived up to their promise and produced a highly professional and hugely enjoyable piece.
