Read Not Dead

  On a winter’s day in London in 1582, the court of Elizabeth I celebrated Christmas and New Year with a play packed full of bickering gods, magic spells and romantic intrigue. No records remain of further performances of The Rare Triumphs of Love and Fortune for another 435 years until it was revived in a staged reading at Shakespeare’s Globe this year. Despite its framing device of a debate between Venus, representing love, and a personification of fortune, the cast and director John Hopkins reveal this play, by an anonymous author, to be surprisingly entertaining and lively with plenty of opportunities for comedy. It was one of four one-off performances as part of the latest Read Not Dead season running at the Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, co-ordinated by James Wallace from The Dolphin’s Back and devised in collaboration with the Before Shakespeare project. This research project focuses on the … Read more