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Paradise
Lost
Royal Theatre, Northampton
Fri
30 January to Sat 14 February, 2004
Tickets: £6.00 to £28.00
Box Office: 624811 |
To
create both Hell and the Garden of Eden on the Royal Theatre stage
is a mammoth project. It's certainly a challenge.
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| Darrell
D'Silva plays Satan |
The
Paradise Lost story is well known because it comes from the bible.
It begins with the dramatic expulsion of Satan and his army of angels
from Heaven. We follow his journey from the dark depths of Hell
through to God's newly created paradise on Earth. In Eden, Satan
sets about the temptation of Man, targeting the weaker of the two
newly created beings, Eve, and successfully convincing her to eat
the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.
Good v evil
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| Leah
Muller plays Eve and Belial |
It's
a classic battle between good and evil. Director Rupert Goold said:
"We engage with the characters of Satan and his fallen angels
because of their humanity, recognising in their actions the potential
within us all to rebel and challenge the established order. "
Milton wrote his epic poem more than 360 years ago, yet it's thought
no one has attempted to put it on stage until now. What a coincidence,
then, that on the very day the Royal Theatre has its world premiere,
the Bristol Old Vic opens with its own version of Paradise Lost.
Challenge
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| Christian
Bradley is Adam and Moloch |
Poet
and translator Ben Power has been brought in to adapt Milton's work
for the Royal.
And Ben Stones - winner of the Linbury Biennial Prize For Stage
Design - will provide the set. Not only does he have to bring to
life the fiery depths of hell, but create the idyllic home of Adam
and Eve, and transform Satan into a serpent.
If
nothing else, it sounds like a real spectacle.
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