This is from back in 2013, but the fact is, it struck me that productions of Thomas Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy are few and far between, nowadays – although we know it was wildly succesful in the 1580s and long later, with its dark tale of revenge and madness. Another Grammar-School man like Shakespeare, Kyd seems to have enjoyed quite a reputation in his time – but most of his work has gone lost, and his fame has been largely eclipsed… Still, curiosity (that old cat murderer) sent me a-browsing – and I came up with, amongst a few others, this production of the California-based Marin Shakespeare Company. There are images and much the usual information, but what I especially loved was producer/director Lesley Schisgall Currier’s recounting of how the production came to be. The long-ago memories, the occasional resurfacing of the idea, the reasoning why not – and then… why not, indeed?

It is a lovely tale of theatre, curiosity, and risk-taking, and artistic courage, and the way certain ideas just won’t let go.