Back in 2012 Douglas Morse directed a movie version of Kit Marlowe’s Jew of Malta. Judging by the trailer and teasers, it looks like filmed theatre, with a curious mix of period and non-period costumes and settings…I think I’d rather like to see it, but what I want to share today is an interview with Morse, to be found on the Marlowe in Performance website.

Speaking at a comparatively early stage of the endeavour, before filming, Morse tells about his approach to characters, text and casting, stressing just how many choices are still open this early. It would be interesting to see in the finished work whether, for instance, Seth Duerr’s Barabas does care for his lost daughter or not, whether they went for subtext in the end or they chose to avoid the temptation of redemption…

What I find especially intriguing is that certain dilemmas and choices are the same one faces in the early days of a stage production. Maybe this is in part because of the nature of both text and production, but still, it is interesting to see the parallels.