Feb 6– From Edward the Second by Marlowe
Summary: We come in pretty late, so I'm sure I'm missing some of the plot. Mortimer is having an affair with Isabel. Edward II is in prison/sick. He gets tortured by (possibly) LITERAL SATAN. It's a little gay. And kinky.
Commentary: Apparently we do get Doctor Faustus, it's just in a volume with Faust instead. This one was a pain to find a decent version of. This is less of a "best" and more of a "least bad." I did find a filmed version here. Our 15 minute reading runs more like half an hour, but it's probably worth it. It has Ian McKellen, and terrible production values. I will say, having read 3 or 4 of his plays, Marlowe reads a lot better than Shakespeare. Honestly, I prefer him in general. Shakespeare may be better at wordplay and what not, but Marlowe is so entertainingly dramatic (20% hammier, you might say). Timothy West is jubilantly chewing the scenery as Mortimer, and he gets to actually have an affair (unlike Iago). People get dragged off stage for execution while screaming! Someone named after Satan kisses/tortures a dude! Regarding my earlier comments about shared cultural references, this is definitely the basis for Count Rugen's torture in The Princess Bride. With the Grail Knight from Last Crusade as the villain. Which is an interesting choice.
Very glad I watched it, but still reads pretty well regardless.
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