Culture Watch: Edward II by Carlos Pons Guerra
A dance adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's play.
Contemporary choreographer, Carlos Pons Guerra, is taking his dance adaptation of Edward II on tour around the UK.
The production takes Christopher Marlowe's 1592 play and sets the action in a high school.
Marlowe drew on the real-life events of the King of England who fell in love with his male court favourite, Piers Gaveston. Their love led to a civil war and a chase across England before they met their tragic end.
Pons Guerra’s adaptation gives us the King of the Class, the boy he loves and the war that tears the playground apart - exploring the pain and joys of forbidden love while also reminding us of the struggle and endurance of queer people across history.
The work is set to an original score that glitches from 90s video arcade to medieval electronics by Pons Guerra’s regular collaborator, Spanish MAX Award Winner, Luis Miguel Cobo. Time-warping costume designs and set design are by April Dalton. Lighting is by Barnaby Booth.
The piece is danced by a company of five:
- Will English as Edward II.
- Mariano Zamora as Piers Gaveston.
- Tahlia Russell as Edward's wife, Queen Isabella.
- Ruby Portus as Mortimer Junior, Isabella's lover.
- Sebastien Kapps as Lightborne,Edward's assassin.
“I have been living with Edward and Marlowe for over four years now and in that time I've got very close to both of them..." explains Pons Guerra. "Edward, who was the first recorded gay king of England, has an incredibly tragic story. And Marlowe, 'the bad boy' of the Renaissance, tells it beautifully. Rather than dwell on the horror of the story, my adaptation focuses on the deep, intense and timeless love between the two male protagonists. I’m offering new queer lights with which to view the gay king of England and invest Marlowe's text with love, camp and hope.”
Tour Dates
30-31 October: Leeds
17 November: Sheffield
15 January: Rochdale
28 January: Barnsley
2-3 March
Gareth Johnson